


Growls From The Dark

by Tired_Leaf



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Cursed!Luz, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Secret Relationship, Verbal Abuse, Werewolf!Luz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:01:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 59,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26920318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tired_Leaf/pseuds/Tired_Leaf
Summary: Luz hasn't shown up to school all week, which leaves her friends concerned. Brushing it off as the human needing to do errands for Eda, Amity's concern reaches its peak when Luz blows off their Azura Bookclub Meeting without any word as to why. Even stranger, Eda and Lilith refuse to tell Amity the truth about the noises she hears from outside the owl house as well as refusing to let her see Luz. Things remain in the dark until Amity is attacked by a strange creature on her way home one night. However, its eyes remind her of the human girl she loves._______________________________________________I aim to update the story once a week!Cursed!Werewolf!Luz x Amity(Characters have been aged up to be 16)
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 144
Kudos: 848





	1. Missing

It was quiet. Nearly too quiet for Willows liking. Her gaze remained on the empty seat across from her as Gus continued to drink his apple blood without care. There was a silence between them, though it was not awkward, it was oddly peaceful. “Gus, have you seen Luz around today?” Willow asked, a hint of worry clearly laced in her voice. Gus stopped, his eyes shifting to the spot where Luz usually sat. The young witch thought for a moment. Luz had not been in his illusions class that morning, which he found a bit odd. However, his mind had been more focused on writing up an essay for the Human Appreciation Society, discussing a few new things that Luz had told him about the human realm. “I haven’t, but I wouldn’t think too hard on it. Maybe she’s out with the owl lady?” Gus tried his best to calm his friends' worries. They usually talked every morning before school; however, Luz had never picked up.

Willow gave a curt nod of understanding, before going back to the lunch on her tray. As soon as the sound of shuffling reached her eyes, Willow's eyes shot up, expecting to see the smiling Latina. However, they met with a pair of concerned yellow eyes. “Have either of you seen Luz today?” Amity asked her gaze drifting to the empty spot next to her. Willow seemed to tense just a bit, however, remembered Gus’s words. “She didn’t answer her crystal ball this morning, but she’s probably off somewhere helping Eda and Lilith. Also, she does stay with her mother on the weekends, so there’s a chance they’re just spending the day together.” Willow listed the different possibilities. Amity’s ears appeared to droop just a bit, which did not go unnoticed by the plant witch. “Hey, don’t think too much about you. I’m sure she’ll be back tomorrow!” Willow tried her best to raise the spirits of the youngest Blight, Titan knows she needed some joy in her life. 

Amity’s eyes continue to remain on the spot where Luz usually sat. Finally, she sighed, giving Willow a reassuring smile. “You’re right, she’s probably just needing a day to herself,” Amity admitted. The group had been through so much within the past two years. With the takedown of Belos, there was still danger lurking in the shadows due to the escape of Kikimora. Due to this, Amity no longer needed to focus on joining the emperors' coven at the time, with Lilith having taken over and currently working to rebuild it and shape it into a proper coven that could do good. Amity now spent most of her days studying, hanging out with her new group of friends, and spending time alone with Luz that the group and her siblings did not need to know about. 

School went on normally with only a few incidents. Someone had accidentally created a rather large plant beast that tried to consume students. Another tried creating an illusion of themself that ended up running around the school, spray painting everything in its path. And finally, the school had to evacuate due to a student in potions not paying attention, thus the smoke from their cauldron had caused the fire alarm to go off. The trio met outside, slightly damp due to the water. Willow was busy ringing out the little bit of water from her uniform, meanwhile, Gus created the illusion of a fan to help dry off the notes he had been taken in one of his classes.   
Amity stood beside him, opening one of her abomination textbooks to try and dry as well. Once everything was situated, and the smoke cleared, everyone returned to their classes to finish off the day. In the end, the group once again met up outside. “Should we just wait to give Luz her schoolwork tomorrow when she comes back?” Gus asked as he stared at the papers in his hands that his teacher had given to him earlier. Willow and Amity shared a look, almost as if they were having a silent conversation with each other. “I think we should wait until tomorrow. That way we can help her if she has any questions.” The plant witch insisted. “I think I’ll copy my notes for Luz tonight, that way she isn’t too lost,” Amity claimed as she thought about the girl, she had a crush on. Willow's eyes shifted towards Amity, who was busy staring at the ground. She bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from smiling as Amity’s cheeks turned a light pink.

“I think she’d like that.” Willow agreed. 

The next day, Luz did not meet with the trio at the front of the school. Nor did she ever show up to lunch or any of her classes. 

The day after, Luz remained absent, something that was beginning to worry the group. She had not been picking up when they called the owl house’s crystal ball, nor had been seen by any of the local vendors. 

“Maybe something finally ate her,” Boscha had commented one day as she listened in on the group’s conversation during class change. Both Willow and Amity shot a look towards the three-eyed girl. She currently wore her grudgby jacket, due to the season starting the upcoming weekend, and tossed a ball in her hand. “Or maybe she’s just tired of hanging out with losers, though, she’s quite the loser herself.” The girl commented with a giggle. Willow took a deep breath to calm herself. “Luz is fine, she’s just out due to personal reasons.” Willow lied. Boscha stopped tossing the ball as she scoffed. She was about to open her mouth once again until Skara roughly grabbed her arm. “Boscha, you’re supposed to be at practice! We’ve been wondering where you’ve been!” She stated, tugging at her friend's jacket. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Amity.

“Amity!” She called excitedly, taking a step forward wanting to talk to the green-haired witch, however she was roughly tugged back. “We don’t have time for talking Skara! We need to practice!” Boscha barked as she pulled her friend away. “But you got to talk to Amity!” They heard Skara whine as Boscha led her down the hall and out the school. Amity’s expression became somber. Skara was not as bad as Boscha and honestly, she would be lying if she said she didn’t miss her. Gus took note of this. “Hey, I’m sure Luz is alright like Willow said! You two have your Azura Book Club meeting tonight, right? I’m sure she’ll be there!” Gus tried his best to reassure the youngest Blight. Amity thought it over. She couldn’t say she’d be exactly happy that Luz decided to miss school but attend their book club meeting; however, the thought that Luz missing school but still wanting to see her made her heart flutter a bit. “Yeah, I’m sure she’ll be there.” She agreed, holding her books closer to her chest as if the gesture helped slow down her beating heart. 

Amity waited from six till a quarter to the witching hour in her hideout at the library. 

Luz never showed. 

Her pillow was soaked with tears when she woke up. Her siblings had suspected Amity to be out at a sleepover but were surprised to hear the front door open from the living room where they were busy watching a horror movie. Eric had nearly screamed, but Emira was quickly able to cover his mouth before he woke their parents up. The twins slowly peaked over the couch, surprised to see their sister slowly closing the door closed. “Mittens?” Emira gently called out, watching her sister tense. Both their eyes widened in concern as they took in their sisters tear-stained face. She sniffled weakly, eyes starring at the floor instead of her siblings. “Amity, is everything alright?” Edric asked, standing from the couch and ready to rush to his younger sister to see if she was hurt. Amity’s bottom lip trembled as more tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. “Amity!” The twins tried to keep their voices low as their sister ran from their view and up the stairs towards her room. 

They remained in the living room with the movie paused, giving their sister some time to herself, hoping she would come down and speak with them when she felt better.

Amity never returned to her siblings.

Amity cringed at the feeling of the dried tears against her face. She felt gross and wanted a shower more than anything at the moment. Well, she actually wanted to rush to the owl house to see if Luz was alright, but that would have to wait. Amity crawled out of bed nearly jumped at the sound of knocking echoing throughout the manor. Somebody was at the door. Amity glanced at the clock on her wall and then out her window. It was nearly seven in the morning and the sun was just beginning to rise. The knocking continued and from the sounds of it, the person was clearly not happy. Amity grabbed a change of clothes, preparing to take a shower, before walking out of her room. “I know it had to be those twins!” Whoever was at the door barking. 

Curious about the topic of her siblings, and what they could have done to make someone so angry, Amity turns away from the direction of the bathroom to instead stand at the top of the staircase. One of the maids starred unamused at the man in front of her. Amity took note of his attire, chalking him up to be one of the farmers that lived a few miles away in the more rural area of the boiling isles. “Excuse me sir, but I don’t really see how you can believe the Blight twins to be the cause of such-” The maid seemed to be mulling over a variety of negative words in her head “-Misfortune.” She went with. The man huffed, rage clear on his face. “Because they’ve done this before!” He yelled, clearly irritated that he was not believed. 

“My fence door was torn apart and some of my screech sheep gone!” The man growled. Amity could tell the maid was holding back an eye roll at the man’s accusation. “Well some may be missing; however, you still have the rest.” The maid claimed, ready to shut the door; however, the man was quick to press his hand against it. The woman’s eyes shifted towards his calloused, the twitch of her brown signaling she was becoming more irritated by the second. “There is nothing left.” The man hissed. Amity tensed slightly. It wouldn’t have been the first time a farmer had beat down their door due to her siblings, but something seemed off. When she came home the twins had been in their pajamas, clearly too lazy and not planning to go out and terrorize people with their usual shenanigans. 

The man made no move to step inside the manor; however, he clearly didn’t plan on just leaving either. “And what, if I may ask, are you wanting exactly? Because I shall tell you now, the Blights will now be paying for your losses due to a claim without proof.” The maid stated rather harshly. The man sucked his teeth, ears twitching in clear irritated. His mouth opened and closed before he simply took his hand off the door and turned to walk away. The maid puffed out her chest in a bit of pride, though her eyes narrowed when the man stopped. “I know it was those damn Blight twins! And I’m going to catch them next time!” The man barked as he stomped down the old pathway.

Amity processed the conversation. Her siblings had scared local sheep stiff, laughing as they would fall over, however she could not wrap her head around the twins breaking into something physically to cause chaos. No, that was simply too much work for them. If they can’t use magic to get where they want, they’ll go find something else to entertain them. “Ms. Blight.” The voice of the maid pulled Amity away. Her eyes met with disinterested pair of green ones. “You may wish to change before breakfast. Your parents will be joining you, and I doubt they’d be very thrilled to see you in your school attire on a weekend.” The maid hissed. Amity tensed. No doubt about it her parents would be up soon, so she had to hurry. Quickly, Amity rushed to the bathroom. She undressed of her school uniform and tried to make her shower as quickly as possible, aiming to get changed and downstairs before her parents woke. 

When she was done Amity wrapped her bathrobe around her, exiting the bathroom as soon as she finished everything she needed to do. She stepped out, ready to head straight to her room, instead of the waiting hands of her mother. Odalia gently cupped Amity’s face. “Sleep well?” She asked as a small smile graced her features. “Yes, mother,” Amity replied automatically. Odalia hummed lowly, her thumbs gently rubbing against Amity’s pale cheeks. “That’s good. I could have sworn I heard you crying at some point in the night,” Her mother stated which nearly made Amity’s body tense. “Oh darling,” She cooed, bringing Amity into an embrace. “Did you and Boscha have a disagreement? I haven’t seen her or Skara around in quite some time.” Odalia claimed. Amity gave a small nod, refusing to open her mouth in fear of her voice betraying how nervous she felt. Odalia hummed lowly, her nails finding purchase in Amity’s hair. 

Usually, such an action would cause people to feel comforted and safe. Amity felt like she could throw up. Odalias nails raked against Amity’s scalp, her fingers stopping to place a strand of green between her fingers. “Such a beautiful shade. It really brings out the brightness of your eyes. The paleness of your skin. It’s absolutely beautiful.” She hummed, gently rubbing the wet strands between her fingers. Her hand once against found its way into Amity’s hair. This time she felt a rather harsh scrape against her roots. It made her wince. “Such a nasty shade. Very distasteful to the eye. Don’t you hate it Amity? This disgusting shade of brown takes away from such a lovely shade of green.” Her mother claimed, fingers pulling at her roots as if she were pulling weeds from a garden. What a silly comparison, as if Odalia had to do a hard day’s work in her life, let alone get dirty in a garden.

“I hate it, mother.” Amity lied. 

Odalia hummed lowly in joy. She didn’t need to look up to know that her mother's smile had grown. “That makes me so happy to hear. I’m actually going into town after breakfast to have my hair done for a party your father and I must attend tonight. You’ll join me.” She stated, pulling away from Amity. Odalia’s hands once again cupped her face, giving her no choice but to stare up at her mother. “Be a good girl and wear something nice.” Odalia stated with one more look over of Amity “Don’t embarrass me.” Her eyes read before releasing her daughter's face to head downstair. Amity felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was quick to rush back to her room, changing into something she felt would be flattering to her mother’s taste, which meant an outfit that her mother had gifted her recently. 

It took Amity a moment to find something reasonable, due to her usually stuffing all her clothes given to her by her parents to the back of her closet. Usually what she wore were outfits she bought while out with Willow and Luz, some even coming from shopping trips with her siblings. Once she was changed, she used a spell to dry her hair and pulled it up into its usual half pull back state. She packed a bag, making sure to put in the notes and the homework Willow and Gus gave her yesterday since she had been expecting to see Luz that night. She halted at the thought. Amity sniffled at the memory. Was Boscha right? Was Luz tired of hanging out with them? Had she done something that had upset Luz? Amity shook her head free of the thoughts. If Luz had a problem, she’d come to them to speak about it, she wouldn’t just cut them off. Quickly, Amity made her way downstairs, making sure to drop off the bag by the door to grab when she and her mother left. Breakfast was quiet and uneventful, the twins mostly conversing amongst themselves and answering any questions their mother had.

Due to the takedown of Belos, Odalia had enlightened her family about her “concerns” of the Emperor's Coven. She had made it clear she didn’t feel comfortable with her children joining now that such a corrupt person had taken over. They were not allowed to join until a more suitable person was placed as head of the coven. On their way out, Amity grabbed the bag and slipped it over her shoulder. A carriage waited for them outside, which Odalia insisted her daughter enter first. Once they were comfortable the carriage began its journey to the marketplace. “Schoolwork darling?” Odalia asked, having taken notice of her daughter's bag. “Actually, a student in my abominations course was out sick this week, so I offered to bring them their schoolwork.” Amity partially lied. It felt as if her mother was starring through her, subtle smile still on her face as she checked her daughter for any hints of a lie. 

“Such a good girl.” Was all that she said before turning her attention to the window. The conversation ended just like that, and the rest of the journey was silent. At the hair salon, Amity was quickly rushed into a chair by her usual stylist who scolded her for allowing her roots to grow out so much. She listened to her mother chuckle as she was placed in her own chair, the stylist being quick to let Odalia’s hair out of its usual updo. “I told her, brown just isn’t her color.” Her mother stated, relaxing in her chair as the stylist began to work. Amity felt embarrassed as the adults talked about her as if she wasn’t there. 

Amity stayed out of the conversation, only speaking when spoken to. The sooner this ended, the quicker she could get to the owl house to see Luz and make sure she was okay. To hold her in a tight embrace and run her fingers through her hair. Amity’s face began to burn at the memories. At the times they were supposed to be having a book club meeting, but instead leaned against each other and took a nap, their arms wrapped around each other. The times they would be out to see a movie with Willow and Gus who didn’t realize that the two girls were secretly holding hands under the armrest between them. Jeez, she really missed her. “- And grudgby season has once again started! My husband and I went to the game last night and my oh my, how things have changed since your daughter left Mrs. Blight.” The man behind Amity laughed. 

“All negative I hope.” Odalia chuckle, which caused the rest of the salon employees to give a laugh. They could think her mother was joking, but behind that innocent smile, Amity knew her mother meant what she said. “Your daughter was such a star player, it’s sad that she decided to quit.” He spoke as if he wasn’t talking about the girl who sat in his chair. “Oh, I know. Her father and I were so upset to hear that she quit due to a little mishap with her team. Luckily, she’s feeling better and Amity plans to rejoin the team again next year.” Odalia stated proudly. Amity tensed, her eyes widening. They had never spoken about this. She had no plans on returning to the grudgby team. “Oh, how wonderful! It’ll be so wonderful to see you on the field once again Ms. Blight!” Her stylist stated excitedly as he finished adding the last bit of dye to her hair. “Yeah, me too.” Amity gave a fake smile and even through in a giggle for effect.

“Is she wanting to be grudgby captain again?” An older woman who was having her hair washed asked, joining in on the conversation. Amity could feel her mother's gaze, as the older woman stared at the back of her daughter's head from her mirror. “You bet she does,” Odelia stated happily, which earned a few mumbled of joy from the other clients. Though Boscha had brought Hexside to victory on many occasions, everyone knew that the only way she even became captain was due to Amity leaving. “Oh, how exciting! We can’t wait to see you on the field once again!” A man who was having his hair dyed as well claimed excitedly. Amity chuckled, becoming more embarrassed as attention was drawn to her.

“Me too.” Amity lied once again.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Amity waved goodbye to her mother as she once again entered the carriage, hair more elegant and ready to be seen. Her mother had originally offered to drop her off at the so-called classmate's house, but Amity insisted she walk to prevent her mother from being late. Her mother looked as if she wanted to continue with her daughter, though held back as soon as Amity mentioned the party her mother needed to attend. Before entering her mother had gently brushed some strands of green hair out of Amity’s face with a simple “Beautiful once again.” Slipping past her lips before disappearing into the carriage. She waited till the carriage was out of her sight before turning and heading towards the owl house.

Her concern only grew as a few merchants who recognized her, stopped her to ask where Luz had been. She usually delivered potions to people around the area, however, hadn’t been seen all week. Eda and sometimes Lilith would be spotted instead, selling potions to customers both new and old. Amity began to feel more anxious each time she was stopped and asked about the human girl. By the time she reached the edge of the woods Amity’s pace quickened. As soon as the owl house came into view, she began to slow down. Oddly, King was outside. There were scattered band-aid wrappers drifting away from him and past Amity. Some even floating towards the ocean. She shuddered at the breeze, a reminder that the days were becoming chillier, and that she had forgotten her coat at home.   
King appeared too busy to realize Amity was walking upon him. Hooty had fresh scratches on him, which King placed band-aids over. “You know she didn’t mean it, something just uh, different for now.” King tried to reassure the cowering owl door. The sound of crashing caught Amity’s attention as well as Kings. They both looked up towards the second floor where rattling could be heard. “Is everything alright?” Amity finally spoke up, causing King to jump and Hooty to hiss in surprise. “Danger! More danger!” The owl cried, still not forgetting when Amity had released her furry upon the door two years ago. Honestly, she thought things had gotten better between them, thus something must have happened to cause the door to be so shaken. “Uh, yeah, what brings you here?” King asked, turning his full attention to Amity. “I came to drop off Luz’s homework since she never came to school all week,” Amity claimed, shifting her backpack off her shoulders. 

“Welp, thanks for that uh, greenie? I can give that to Luz!” He stated, jumping up to grab the bag from Amity, who quickly held it out of his reach. King glared at her. “What’s the big idea!” He barked, continuing to jump as if he would somehow jump high enough to reach that bag. “Can I please see Luz?” Amity tried her best to keep her temper under wraps. King finally stopped jumping, a long “Um” escaping him and causing a brow to rise in curiosity on Amity’s face. “King, who are you talking to?” Eda’s voice caught both their attention as she threw the door open. She looked tired and her hair disheveled. Her eyes widened. “Oh, it’s you.” She stated rather tiredly. Did these people just forget her name or something? “Edalyn who’s at the door?” Lilith asked from the couch, leaning over the side just a bit to see past her sister. Her eyes widened. “Amity? What brings you here?” She asked, placing some documents on a small table that had been move beside the couch over the past two years.

Amity’s eyes couldn’t help but follow the papers her old mentor had placed down. More so what caught her attention was that by the way she had placed them signaled she had the papers upside down when she was originally holding them. Odd. “I’m here to see Luz. She wasn’t at school all week, so I brought her homework and was going to see if she needed any help.” Amity stated while opening the bag and pulling out the homework. Eda and Lilith exchanged a look. “We can give that to Luz for your Amity,” Lilith claimed as she stood from the couch. Amity was quick to notice the woman nudge what appeared to be a book further under the piece of furniture. Something was off. “May I ask why I can’t see her? Is she sick?” Worry was clear in Amity’s voice as she asked. “Yep, got a bad human sickness or something. I blame it on this one here’s cooking.” Eda tried to joke and even nudged her older sister who simply glared at her.

“The human is just feeling a little under the weather. However, she may not be-” Lilith was cut off at the sound of a loud banging coming from upstairs. Everyone looked up to stare at the ceiling for a moment before the rustling calmed down, though it was clear someone was walking above them. “Yeah, she sounds very bedridden,” Amity stated with a bit of venom laced behind her words. Eda glared at the girl, though Lilith placed a hand on her shoulder. A warning as to hold her tongue. Eda sighed, “Listen, kid, Luz isn’t doing so hot right now-” another loud bang echoed throughout the house “And she probably won’t be for a while.” The witch claimed. Amity shifted her gaze away from the witches to stare in between them. From what she could see the house was a wreck. The couch had claw marks, there were torn and tattered books and pieces of fabric that littered the floor as well. Her eyes narrowed, was that a large hole in the window behind the table? “Did someone try to break in?” Amity once again questioned. The sisters shared a look once more, a motion that was steadily beginning to irritate Amity. 

The sounds continued to pick up whenever everything went quiet, however, Amity was noticing that when she spoke, the sounds would stop for a while. As if on cue, the sounds of scratching at wood interrupted the sisters. “So, what exactly do you have up there with Luz?” The teen asked with a raised brow. Once again, the sounds stopped, causing the sisters to exchange a look. “Nothing of importance. Just an old house, don’t you know they creak and moan?” Lilith claimed, shifting closer to Eda to block Amity’s view of the house further. As soon as she finished speaking, the sounds picked up, the clawing seeming to intensify. “Yeah, you’ve been here plenty of times! You know the sounds this house can make.” Eda chuckled, which earned her a rather sour look from Lilith. Amity mulled the words she wished to use next over in her head.

What caught her attention though was the sound of a rather loud sniffing? It was clear whatever creature was above them was trying to figure out something or had the scent of something it was trying to get to. Once it stopped sniffing the scratching began once again. “I think you should go,” Eda claimed, reaching for the bookbag that Amity held in her hands. Before Amity could register what had just happened, the white-haired witch slammed the door in her face. Amity stared wide eyes as she came face to face with a concerned and battered Hooty. She listened as Lilith scolded Eda for her rude behavior, though their voices began to drown out as they took their arguing further into the house. Hooty took in Amity’s upset expression. “There there, it’s okay!” Hooty stated, wrapping its body around Amity once. She wanted nothing more than to shove the bird tube away, but at the same time, she was trying to wrap her head around what just happened. 

“Luz isn’t feeling too well, and it’s not really good for her to be out and about, hoot!” Hooty claimed, its eyes shifting to the side of the house where Luz's bedroom was located. “Is-,” Amity’s voice got caught in her throat. She basically knew nothing about the diseases and sicknesses humans caught. “Is she going to make it?” Amity asked with clear concern of what the answer would be. Hooty’s eyes widened, its normal smile once again appearing. “Of course! Luz is going to be fine once Eda and Lilith sort everything out, hoot!” Hooty stated with such confidence Amity couldn’t help but feel a bit better. “Really?” She asked, happy that she was getting a bit of information out of the house at least. “Yep! Eda’s been dealing with the same thing for years! Hoot!” Hooty nuzzled its face against Amity’s who just seemed lost and confused at his statement.

“Welp, you don’t worry too hard about it! I’m sure you’ll see Luz soon when everything is better!” The owl pulled away from Amity as it spoke, once again appearing as just a face in the door. Amity remained standing; the ruckus upstairs having faded away as background noise by now. She was tempted to continue questioning the bird tube, however, quickly concluded that it would not be much help. It was currently trying to reach a spider that was crawling down its web with the weak attempt of grabbing it with its tongue. Amity slowly backed away, deciding it would be best to return home. She had spent a good bit of her day with her mother, much to her displeasure, though felt it would be best to return home before her parents made it back from their party. Plus, the wind was beginning to pick up as well as the chill in the air.

She spared the house one last glance, even moving closer to the cliff to see if she could peer up at Luz’s window. Oddly, it was boarded up, only adding to Amity’s concern. Taking a deep breath, Amity was quick to turn around and head back home. She was sure once everything was said and done with, Luz would explain herself. Amity had to admit to herself that she felt relieved that Luz wasn’t avoiding her on purpose nor their group of friends. She continued down the normal path, though turned onto a new one that she had found which was a quicker way to her home. She hummed at the memories of all the times she had taken it as she slipped away from the owl house to go home. Her mind was occupied to the point she didn’t realize how late it had gotten and how close she was to getting home. The old money houses that littered her neighborhood came into view.

Most of the houses were lit up due to the darkness that had begun to cover Bonesborough, which brought a sense of relief upon Amity that she was nearly home. Her parents wouldn’t be back till later that night, which meant she could do as she pleased. Getting a warm cup of boiling chocolate sounded delightful, something to bite the chill in the air. Maybe she could even convince the twins not to bother her and instead allow her to watch a movie with them. The ideas of what she could do when she got home began to run through her mind. It was so rare for her to feel like she could be herself at home. 

Little did she know that a creature lurked close behind, its snout pressed to the ground as it sniffed furiously. The creature had been tracking her, for quite some time. Its speed picked up as Amity’s scent got stronger. The green-haired witch never ever realized what was coming. The only time she registered anything is when the sound of breaking sticks and running caught her attention and she was shoved off the path by a large body and into the darkening woods on the other side.


	2. The Creature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rundown on the trails Luz has had to face as her body betrays her whenever she shows a negative emotion.
> 
> Art and permission were given to use by Saatiew@SaatieW on twitter!  
> Feel free to follow me on my social media for updates on the story!  
> Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired , Instagram: _tiredleaf_ , Tumblr: tiredleaf

“Worms bile?” 

“Check.”

“Frogs Tongue?”

“Check.”

“Dragons kidney?”

“Are you sure these ingredients are safe for a human to consume Edalyn?” Lilith asked as she tossed the dragons kidney into the boiling cauldron her little sister was busy stirring. They shared a look.

“Frogs breath?”

“Edalyn!” Lilith barked in irritation. “What?! It’ll cover up the scent and taste!” Eda claimed, continuing to stir the potion. Lilith felt her eye twitch before reaching out to take the spoon from her sister, who quickly pulled it out of her reach before she could do so. “She’ll be fine! Luz has consumed worse than this!” The owl lady declared as she stuck the spoon back into the potion at work. Her sister stared at her in disbelief. “What do you mean worse than this?!” Lilith growled, clearly concerned with the items the human had consumed before she had become part of the owl house. “With a curse comes magic and thus her body has changed. Trust me, I’m sure she can handle this.” Eda tried to reassure her sister. Lilith stared at the boiling contents in the cauldron before sighing and grabbing the next items on the list.

The house was surprisingly silent, the sisters having chalked it up to Luz tiring herself out. Amity had only left just around five minutes ago, having interrupted the sisters from mixing one of their various potions. Lilith thought back on their encounter. “I’m sure Luz would have liked to see her,” The black-haired witch stated as she peered up towards the ceiling. Eda’s eyes remained on the cauldron; guilt having nipped at her as soon as she slammed the door in the young Blights face. “I know, but we don’t know how this curse has affected her entirely. Her eyes haven’t turned black like ours, which is good, but still. I mean, the girl coughed up a screech sheep’s carcass this morning Lily,” Eda stated with a hand on her hip. The oldest sibling gagged at the memory.

They had spent most of the night searching for the young girl, unsurprised to find her lurking around the woods near the Blight manor. Though, it was obvious that the girl had stopped by a nearby farm for a late-night snack. Eda and Lilith had gotten more into depending on their potions and glyphs that Luz had taught them as they went about their days. Luckily, the sisters had an easy time grabbing a premade sleep potion. They had thrown it at Luz’s paws, the scent knocking the girl out instantly when they first found her. However, dragging the large beast back to the owl house was a nightmare. “I’m telling you, we put King is a little outfit and have him dance around and it’ll snap Luz out of it,” Eda whispered to her sister, a sinister smirk appearing on her lips. The two glanced into the living room where King was building a fort out of their many potions books.

“And please, do tell, what gives you the idea that doing such a thing would work?” Lilith asked, clearly not convinced. “Well, when I was partially turned, King did this cute little squeal that made me laugh and it snapped me out of it.” Eda shrugged, her smile widening at the memory. “You promised never to bring that up again!” King screamed from the living room. “I suppose we could give it a try.” Lilith sighed, though quickly went quiet as the floors above them creaked. Once again, the rustling began. Though Luz was not scratching at the floor, she appeared to be clawing at something else? They would have to check soon. “If that doesn’t work, she’ll be fine in the morning. It’s just a suggestion to help her turn back quicker instead of her waiting the night out like this.” Eda claimed, turning the heat off and scooping some of the potion into a bowl.

The first time this occurred, like any situation, it was unexpected. They had finished an evening in the market, having sold a number of human treasures. The day was ordinary with no strange happenings, though Luz had run off to get the older ladies something to drink at a new stand that recently opened. They would automatically place the blame on the owners if it had not been for Luz having gone there multiple times before with no strange happenings. When they had gotten home, everything seemed fine. They had dinner together and even began watching a show on the crystal ball. Though, halfway in Luz had made the comment about not feeling good and ended up resting her head in Eda’s lap. The older woman shifted her hand onto the girl’s forehead, feeling if she was warm. Her skin didn’t feel any different, thus she simply shifted to run her fingers through her student's hair.

Luz was nearly asleep, her mentor's hand causing her to relax and nearly forget the headache that was threatening to split her head. It wasn’t till Eda placed her hand on Luz’s forehead once again that she began to worry. Sweat was beginning to form and Luz’s eyes were tightly shut. It was as if the girl was grimacing in pain, and Eda hated knowing her kid felt this way. Eda felt a pair of eyes on her and turned her head to look at Lilith who had a concerned look on her face. “Is she alright?” Lilith asked, leaning over to check the girl’s temperature herself. “The weather is getting cooler and today was pretty chilly, wouldn’t surprise me if she caught a small cold.” Her mentor claimed once again starring down at her. Eda stood, holding Luz in her arms. The teen grumbled in discomfort, burying her face against her mentor. “I’m going to go put her to bed and grab a cloth for her head,” Eda stated before walking away from the group without another word.

She had placed Luz gently in bed, haven got it for her about two years ago, and tucked the girl in. Quickly, she rushed to the bathroom to dampen a cloth before returning and placing it on the girl's head. Luz’s body tensed, though relaxed soon after. Eda left the room, closing the door softly behind her, she returned to the living room, continuing to watch the show from earlier with nothing out of the ordinary. Hours had passed and the sisters felt that it was time to turn in. Since they now lived together Eda had cleared out a room for Lilith, though they originally had to share hers till everything was fixed and in order. “You go to bed; I’ll check on the human,” Lilith stated, taking in her sisters-tired state. Eda picked up King, walking away without an argument.

“I wanna sleep with Luz though,” King whined tiredly. Lilith followed them up the stairs, giving King a stern look in the process. “She’s not feeling well right now. You can sleep with her tomorrow if she’s feeling better.” She claimed. King let out a low whine, though tucked his head into Eda’s neck. The raven witch waved good night to her sister before heading straight to Luz’s room. She stood outside for a few seconds, debating. Should she grab the human a glass of water before entering in case she wakes her up and she’s thirsty? What if she gets sick in the middle of the night and throws up all over the floor? Maybe she should get her a bucket just in case? What about a few extra blankets? Lilith’s thoughts were interrupted at the sound of groaning. Maybe she needed to grab some medicine from the bathroom cabinet as well.

Lilith tried her best to remain quiet as she rushed downstairs for some water, before going to the bathroom to search the medicine cabinet. She searched through the many containers that Owlbert had brought through the door not too long ago. Though the door was fixed and back in their possession, there were still a few flaws every now and again. Mostly with Owlbert ending up somewhere new instead of the location they had intended. Sometimes Japan, other days India, the little owl has even been to Germany a few times. Thus a few of the medications were written in languages she didn’t understand, which ended with her shoving them to the side. Didn’t Camilia send some medicine back with Luz last year when she came back with a stomach bug? Once again Lilith dug around until she found the medicine that Camilia had sent, remembering the boxes color and symptoms printed on the front.

Quickly, Lilith made her way back to Luz’s room. Her groaning had stopped, though she now heard shuffling. The floors creaked loudly under Luz, which was surprising since Lilith knew the girl was quite light. “Luz, how are you feeling?” Lilith asked through the door in a rather loud whisper. The movements stopped. “I’ve brought you some medicine. I’m coming in.” The older witch announced, balancing the packet of medicine on the cup before opening the door. She stopped. Luz’s bed was empty, and the girl was nowhere to be seen. The candlelight from the hallway illuminated Luz’s room slightly. The blankets had been kicked onto the floor and Lilith’s eyes narrowed as she noticed the pillow on the bed had been torn apart. “Luz?” She called out softly, stopping as she heard shuffling once again.

Concern began to flood Lilith’s mind. “What’s wrong? Where are you?” She asked, feeling that the only hiding places in the room could be under or behind the bed. She took note of the chill in the air, just now realizing the window was open. Had Luz gotten hot in the night? She was feeling smart now for not bringing the extra blankets. “Luz, this isn’t funny. If you are feeling sick you need to lay in bed. You don’t have to cover yourself up but lying near the window on the ground isn’t good for your body.” Lilith scolded, now wanting nothing more than to give the human girl her medicine and go to bed herself. She heard creaking once again, her ears twitching and mismatch eyes shooting towards the corner near the head of the bed. She could clearly make out a shadow now, bouncing off the wall.

Lilith sighed. She had thought after these two years she had grown closer to Edalyn’s student; she had never shown such discomfort in a long time. Had she done something to upset her? If Luz wished to be alone, Lilith would grant her that. At least she told the teen to get into bed, thus felt she held no blame if the girl woke up with an aching body. “I’ll leave your water here, but you may want to take this,” Lilith stated, placing the water near the door, and squatting down a bit to slide to medicine packet across the floor. She narrowed her eyes, aiming the packet towards the wall close to the edge of the bed. As soon as she slid it, she expected it to bounce off the wall and near Luz, however, large sharp claws slamming the packet down was not what she was expecting. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard heavy breathing and the sounds of nails raking across the floor. The creature pulled the medicine towards them, their claws tearing the floor apart in the process.

She couldn’t breathe.

She couldn’t move.

For the first time in two years, the current leader of the Emperor's Coven was paralyzed with no idea on what to do. Had something broken in and eaten Luz without their knowledge? Impossible, Hooty’s obnoxious babbling would have notified them of an intruder. She remained where she was, listening as the creature tore into the packet, a few of the pills spilling out and rolling across the floor. She watched as a large snout appeared, then a furry face. The large beast steadily appeared as it sniffed the ground before one of its claws slammed down on a rolling pill. Lifting its paw, the pill had shattered, but it didn’t stop the beast from sticking its tongue out to lick at the contents. Lilith took a few steps back, her eyes darting to the creature’s brown ones. The creature, uncaring, sniffed out another tablet. She was quick to turn on her heels and head straight towards her younger sisters’ room. She walked in without knocking, closing the door behind her, and leaning against it.

Surprisingly, her younger sister was still up, though she sat at her vanity taking her make up off, it was clear she was preparing for bed. “Lily? What’s wrong?” Eda asked, turning around on her stool to give her older sister a questionable look. “I believe that the humans’ condition is, um, worse than we believed,” Lilith stated with a steady breath trying to calm her nerves. Eda was quick to stand, concern quickly making its way onto her features. “What’s wrong? What’s happened? Do we need to rush her to the cryptspital?” Eda asked, rushing over to her sister and preparing to shove her aside to open the door. However, Lilith placed a hand on her sister's chest, preventing her from doing so. This earned her a sharp glare from her own sister's heterochronic eyes. “There are, two possibilities, that last one being more true I fear,” Lilith began. This caught Eda’s attention.

Lilith cleared her throat. “The first, though I feel is the least likely, is that a creature has snuck into the house and um, devoured your student,” Lilith claimed without hesitance. Eda stared at her sister as if she had grown another head. Eda was about to open her mouth, facial expression contorting into one of anger. Lilith held up a finger, however, silencing her. “Though, I feel the last theory is more likely that your student has more than a cough,” She began, which earned her a raised brow from Eda. She was about to continue, but the sound of creaking floorboards caught her attention. Both their ears twitched at the sound. The owl witch gave her sister a questionable look. “The last theory is that um, your student has more of a bark than a cough.” She tried to be subtle. She remembered the creature’s brown eyes shining in the moonlight, not black, which meant she was clearly in there and in control of herself.

She didn’t want to upset the girl if she was listening in, however, it appeared she wanted to be part of the conversation as scratching was clearly heard at the door. The creature’s claws tore at the wood door, the only thing separating it from the two witches. King yawned, sitting up in Eda’s nest. He stared at the two witches who were busy pressing their bodies against the door, trying to stop whatever was making that noise from coming in. “What’s going on?” He asked, climbing out of Eda’s nest. “Uh, Luz may be feeling a bit more under the weather than we had expected,” Eda stated, getting tossed forward a fit as the creature began slamming its body against the door. “Weh?! What’s wrong with her?” King whined, rushing between the two women to press his ear against the door. “Luz? Can you hear me?! What’s wrong?!” The little demon asked, expecting a reply. However, a large howl made the whole room quiet down, even the knocking against the door stopped. King blinked. “Uh, could you repeat that?” He asked.

The two women were knocked down, King having been sent flying back as the door busted open. The witches scrambled to their feet, eyes landing on the large beast that had busted the doors open. The creature was as large as them when they were in their cursed forms. Its fur was brown, though the tops of its head appeared to shift into a darker shade. It reminded them of Luz’s hair color. Its eyes were brown, though held a fleck of yellow and currently staring at them. “Luz?” Eda called out softly. The tone of her voice caused the creature's ears to fall back against its head, almost as if it had been scolded. Eda took a few steps forward, the creature remaining in place. Reaching out a hand, the creature on instinct began to sniff at it once Eda was close enough. Lilith held her breath. She feared what the human was about to do. Would she rampage as she and Eda did in their cursed forms? Was she about to witness her little sister get torn limb from limb?

The creature rested its chin in Eda’s hand. Lilith finally took note of the creatures’ body. It was shaking. Eda stared into its eyes, noticing the tears beginning to form and threatening to spill. The creature's body collapsed, its head remaining in Eda’s hand, who now used her other to gently stroke its snout. Eda took a seat in front of the creature, now confident enough to claim it to be Luz, and gently ran her hands across her fur. Low whines escaped the scared girl, large tears soaking Eda’s night skirt. She felt her own eyes begin to water. She felt sad, angry, and helpless. But she felt her emotions to be nothing compared to how her apprentice must be feeling. Lilith finally collapsed onto the floor watching as her sister nuzzled her face into her apprentices’ thick fur, body shaking with sobs. Neither of them would wish a curse like this on anybody.

King came up beside Lilith, his own eyes seeming to water at what had become of his friend. Lilith picked the small demon up, holding him close and feeling his body shake as he sobbed.

Nobody fell asleep until the sun nearly rose.

The next morning, the sisters had woken to find Luz once again gone. In fear, they were quick to search the house, coming to a stop outside the bathroom. They listened as muffled sobs came from behind the door, clearly the young girl. Eda gently knocked before opening the door. Luz sat with her knees against her chest, and face hidden as her body shook inside the empty bathtub. Her mentor had rushed over to her, dropped to her knees to embrace the girl like she had done the night before. Luz was quick to latch onto her, Lilith taking note of the rather sharp nails the girl had grown. They gripped the back of Eda’s dress, tearing at the fabric by accident and even drawing a bit of blood. Eda’s face scrunched up in pain, but she refused to make any noise that could make her apprentice even more insecure. Lilith scanned what she could of the girl. Her ears now had a point to them instead of their usual roundness, though they weren’t as pointy as a witches. When everything calmed down, Lilith also noticed the slight change of Luz’s eye color. The brown with a few flakes of gold still visible. It also didn’t help that once Luz had stood, the tail that drooped behind her.

Later that evening they had tried cutting Luz’s claws down, though they quickly grew back a few hours later. They tried to reassure the girl as best as they could as she stared at a pillow she had tried picking up or a blanket which ended with them being shredded. Her eyes would water in frustration, her breathing getting heavier as she got upset, her tail even fluffed out which they had to admit was adorable. That’s when they noticed it would happen. Her body twisting and morphing into the creature they had seen before. It was clear this curse used her emotions against her. Whenever she would get upset or angry, the curse would rear its ugly head to turn the innocent girl into a creature that could easily destroy the object which caused her to feel such emotions. It didn’t help that Luz once again got upset when her mentor notified her, she wouldn’t be able to return to school until she got her emotions into check. Luz had wanted to argue, but she trusted her mentor’s judgment too much to put up a fight.

Thus, she had cried in her room silently that Monday night, the creature once again returning. The next three days had been peaceful. Luz hadn’t turned into the creature, and she appeared to be getting the hang of handling things more gently. Plus, she was still able to use her glyphs which provided a bit of joy. It wasn’t till nearly six on Friday that it happened once again. Luz had kept herself locked away in her room all day, staring at the clock as it ticked closer and closer to the time, she would originally meet Amity for their meeting. Her ears seemed to twitch with each tick of the clock hands as they neared the dreaded time.

As soon at the hands shown that it was six, Luz allowed her emotions to consume her.

The sisters had been busying themselves in Eda’s room, reading over a spread of books that could possibly help. It was the sound of glass shattering downstairs that had pulled their attention away. They had rushed down, surprised to find a large hole in the window in the kitchen, paw prints in the dirt leading towards the woods. The women had spent the night following them, a sleeping potion hidden away in a satchel that Lilith carried around her. First, the tracks led them to a farm, halfway across Bonesborough. They were startled as the sounds of screech sheep pierced their ears, which caused them to cover them due to the high-pitched sound. Lilith gagged as she and Eda accidentally stepped in some of the remains of torn apart sheep near the farm. They cleared the blood from their shoes before continuing to follow Luz’s tracks.  
They found her lying down at the edge of the woods near Blight manor. The sisters glared at the place, holding a distaste for the two parents of the Blight children. Luz’s ears were flattened against her head, her eyes following the youngest Blight who walked up the path to her house. Luz whimpered lowly, shifting in her spot. She wanted nothing more than to run-up to the upset girl and embrace her. To tell her everything was going to be okay. That she was there and would make it up to her for missing their meeting. They could go to the Grom tree and study or practice spells. They could go to Amity’s favorite restaurant or coffee shop. Hell, they would go to both! Though, maybe Amity would like to just sit in her hideout, embracing each other like they did after a long day. Luz knew that Amity enjoyed being the little spoon when they snuggled. Enjoying it when Luz whispered stories from the human realm to her.

Luz whimpered, nearly caving in to the temptation to go towards the girl. However, a scent caught her nose. Looking down she took note of the purple liquid pooling at her paws. The scent became stronger, and her eyes began to droop. Turning her head, she weakly starred at her mentor. “Come on kid, let’s go on.” She sighed, reaching out to run her hand across Luz’s snout calmly.

Luz gave one last whimper, leaning into her touch before letting her head fall to the ground.

When she awoke her room was dark. She took notice of the boarded-up window in her room, and the sight made her heart ache. Weakly, she stood. She walked to her door, relieved that it was unlocked, which meant she could still roam the house. Slowly, she opened the door and peered outside. Her ears twitched at the sounds of pots and pans being moved around and the scolding voice of Lilith as she spoke to Eda. Luz crept close to the stairs, holding the railing as she walked down. Her mind still felt a bit foggy from the potion and her stomach ached. Lilith was finishing up cleaning the shards of glass that scattered the floor, and Eda appeared to be getting rid of a carcass. However, she did toss King one of its ribs to chew on.

Luz felt guilty. Her ears twitched and her tail was still. “Morning kid! Hope you slept well!” Eda asked, a smile on her face. “Good morning human.” Lilith also greeted as she dumped the glass shards into the trash can. “Good morning,” Luz greet weakly. She wouldn’t cry. She couldn’t cry. She had to get her emotions under control. Eda and Lilith had been finding a way to get rid of the curse, even providing one of their bottles of “An Elixir A Day~” which did nothing. This concerned the sisters, though they believed it to be due to Luz being human. Thus, they’d have to search for another way to help. They had breakfast like normal, Luz helped with the chores, though she found it odd when she went to brush her teeth. Her canines were now pointer, though for some reason she had meat in between her teeth.

It wasn’t till the crystal ball began to ring once school had let out that Luz’s mood once again began to turn. Luz stared with sad eyes as the icons for both Willow and Gus appeared. Eda had offered Luz a beanie to help cover her ears, but Luz could not bring herself to accept it. She didn’t want to pretend everything was okay, no, she wanted to be okay. She wanted to be normal again. Well, as normal as she was before this all happened. She began to think hard on that day. How did this happen? She had gone to work with Eda and Lilith, even going to grab them drinks from a new stand that had opened. Eda may have seen everyone as competition, but Luz believed in supporting your local businesses. The only difference had been a new employee working the stand and even offering Luz a sample of one of their newest drinks. It hadn’t really tasted any different, kind of reminded her of lemonade, thus she didn’t feel a need of purchasing a cup for herself.

Maybe they could go back and ask about the ingredients? Maybe it was something that humans couldn’t consume without being affected? Her head was beginning to hurt again due to thinking so hard. Luz had made herself comfortable in the kitchen, watching as Eda and Lilith tossed different ingredients into the cauldron. “I can get over this, you don’t have to do all this for me,” Luz stated, guilt eating at her. King slept in her lap, providing her a bit of warmth that was much appreciated. “No way kid,” Eda scolded “You have to express your emotions. You must cry, you must feel anger, you have to be you. You can’t let this curse prevent you from expressing being who you are and reacting the way you do.”

This made Luz feel a bit better. “Thanks, Eda.” She smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. Eda returned the smile, insisting that her student go and practice some glyphs to keep her mind off things or to even draw while they worked on the potion. Luz had agreed, gently placing King on the floor before standing. Her eyes shifted to Hooty, remembering the scratches she had found on it this morning. Lilith had notified her that she had latched onto the door tiredly as it yapped to try and shut it up. Guilt nipped at Luz once more. Quickly, she made her way back up the stairs to work on something else to keep her mind busy. They’d spent a good bit of the day having Luz test potion after potion. As frustrating as it was for the women, they could tell it was beginning to influence Luz's negative thinking.

With every potion they offered, they watched the girl’s eyes would light up with hope before drinking.

Nothing would happen.

Another potion.

Nothing.

Another.

Nothing once again.

It had gotten to the point by later evening that whenever Luz would take a drink her eyes looked tired, and drained. Her ears were drooping, and her tail didn’t wag. After their last attempt, Luz felt her chest beginning to tighten, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She’d dropped the cup they had poured the potion in onto the counter before rushing up the stair. King had called after her, though he was silenced by Lilith, claiming that Luz needed some time to herself. It did not surprise the women as they heard rustling upstairs, and the sounds of things being torn apart. The sisters shared a look.

They would find who had done this and punish them, no matter what.

About that time King had gone outside to distract himself from the noise as Lilith grabbed another potions book to use. About that time the sisters began to hear voices outside. They shared a look of concern. Lilith quickly slid the book under the couch, grabbing a few papers she had been reviewing when she returned home last night, the adrenaline keeping her up. The women were surprised to see Amity at the door, here to give Luz homework she had missed throughout the week. The shuffling upstairs had stopped. Lilith had stood, putting her papers down and making sure the book was hidden before joining her sister at the door. They tried their best to hold a conversation as if everything were normal, however, they should have known better than to lie to the youngest Blight. As her ex-mentor even, Lilith could back up that the young girl was brighter beyond her years.

Once Eda had slammed the door in the girls’ face, Lilith winced. She glared at her younger sibling, more than displeased with the way she had handled the situation. Eda refused to look her in the eye as she turned back to head towards the kitchen. Lilith snapped at her sister, grabbing the book from under the couch as she protested the treatment against Luz’s friend.

Now, they were back at the cauldron, once again stirring the contents of a potion that most likely wouldn’t work. They doubt they could magically create a potion to heal Luz, mostly because they didn’t know how curses worked for humans. Since their elixir didn’t help slow down the process of transforming when Luz got emotional, they doubted they’d find an answer in one of their books. The clawing that they were hearing stopped as a loud clattering was heard. The sisters shared a look. Then there were the sounds of glass shattering. “Did you seriously just break another window?!” Eda growled, dropping the bowl onto the counter before rushing up the staircase with her sister. Eda opened the door, eyes automatically spotting the broken shards of glass. The boards had been ripped from the window as well. Lilith noticed a few specs of blood, taking note that Luz must’ve cut her on the glass. The women rushed out of the house, taking note of a trembling Hooty who kept babbling that Luz had escaped. They noticed the bloody footprints which quickly morphed into paw prints. They covered up the barely noticeable prints of Amity's shoes, leading off down the path she had went.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Amity couldn’t move. She couldn’t bring herself to breath. Nervous that if she did the creature that was sniffing at her would rip her to shreds. She always expected to die of old age, maybe even during a battle, but never like this. Not at such a young age. The creature’s paws kept her wrists pinned down, preventing her from drawing a circle to summon an abomination. She would have used her feet, however, the creature’s hind legs kept them pinned down as well. Her wrists were beginning to hurt, the circulation being cut off by the pressure being applied. The creature continued to sniff, its nose brushing against her forehead. It stopped at her hairline, it’s eyes starring down at her hair. It let out of a huff of displeasure before glancing down at her.

Amity’s golden eyes connected with the creatures’ soft brown. They reminded her of Luz’s. Her cheeks began to burn. Of course, she would be thinking of her crush at a time like this! Hell, before she dies, she had hoped to see the girl one last time. Her body tense as the creature opened its mouth, sharp teeth glistening under the pale moonlight. She closed her eyes tightly, preparing to meet her fate. What would it do first? Rip out her throat to prevent her from screaming? Maybe bite off her head as a whole? Maybe it’d rib her to shreds, scattering her remains around the forest as it used her corpse as a chew toy.

She felt its large tongue lick the side of her face.

No, this was possibly worse than death. She gagged as she felt the creature’s saliva drip off her face. Titan have mercy, just eat her now. The creature shifted to rest its large head against her stomach, the paws keeping her pinned. Amity’s eyes remained towards the sky as she felt the creature breathing even out. What was it waiting for? Was it going to rib her stomach out first? She heard a sickening crackle and the beast shifted above her. Grunts of pain, and the sounds of its anatomy being changed left a sickening feeling in Amity’s stomach. The sounds of bones snapping and shifting reminded herself how lucky she was not to be part of the healing track at school.  
Once everything had ended, the only sounds reaching Amity’s ears were the faint rustle of leaves as the wind pushed against the trees. Three-eyed crows could be heard off in the distance, screaming at each other as other animals ran around. Amity’s hands were free, though whoever was on her kept her legs pinned down with their body weight. If she looked up, she could see who held her down, and then would be more than happy to stick her abomination on them.

“Are you mad at me?”

A voice asked, taking Amity by surprise. Luz? Amity wanted nothing more to sit up now and to embrace the girl. To see if she was alright. To scold her for leaving the owl house if she was as sick as Eda claimed. Her hands reached out, gently touching the girls back, but stopped. Her shirt was ripped and felt as if it was barely clinging to her body. What had happened to her? “I’m not mad at you,” Amity responded. Her hands left Luz’s back, finding purchase in Luz's hair, gently running her fingers through the soft strands. She accidentally brushed against Luz’s ear, noticing the girl tense up. Her ear felt a bit pointier. “Luz, what’s wrong? What just happened?” Amity asked with concern clear in her voice. Once again, she tried to sit up. Quickly a hand shot out blocking her vision before she could look at the girl she had missed. Luz snuck her other hand around Amity’s waist, gripped the back of her shirt. Her claws tore at the fabric.

Luz buried her face into Amity’s stomach.

“Please. Please don’t look at me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Lumity content will be added in the following chapters! I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I aim to have at least one chapter out a week!  
> Please feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing your feedback!


	3. Just Hold Me Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity remains in one piece much to Eda and Liliths delight, which causes the owl lady to request the young witch to stay over in hopes of keeping her student in high spirits. 
> 
> At least for the night...
> 
> Art and permission were given to use by Saatiew@SaatieW on twitter!  
> Feel free to follow me on my social media for updates on the story!  
> Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired , Instagram: _tiredleaf_ , Tumblr: tiredleaf

The forest was quiet, except for a few animals that scampered here and there, breaking twigs, and crunching the freshly fallen leaves. Some were beginning to wake up, the sun having set not too long ago, allowing the moon to rise in its place and bask the boiling isles in its pale blue light. Birds that rested in a nearby tree, eyes originally scanning the ground for prey, glared at the two women who walked along the path instead. Eda had been less than quiet as she called out for her apprentice, scaring just about every animal who could hear her voice. The witch whistled and even patted the side of her leg as she called out for her student.

Lilith shot her sister a nasty look as she continued with her antics. “She is not a pet Edalyn! So, stop trying to call her as if she were one!” She scolded her younger sibling who simply rolled her eyes. King kept running ahead, jumping on top of logs and screaming into them asking if Luz was hiding inside. He had peered inside a den of three-headed rabbits who hissed at him with their snake-like tongues. King had jumped, running into Eda’s arms scared before declaring that he would have his revenge. The sisters shared a look, both having to bite back the large smiles that threatened to stretch across their faces. Eda gently patted King's head before continuing forward, trying her best to listen for any particular noise.

The two women had anxiously checked the surrounding areas around the halfway mark. Nervous that they would find the remains of the youngest Blight dangling from the trees. Maybe a few limbs that had been dropped as Luz feasted on her. Lilith had cringed at the mental images her brain came up with. She and Amity were never close, but they had still spent time together. She was still her ex-student who had spent countless hours learning from her. She knew the young girl had new dreams since meeting Luz, and Lilith believed with every fiber of her being that the young woman deserved to accomplish them. She felt her stomach churn as another graphic image crossed her mind. The memory of Luz’s wolf form coughing up the screech sheep remains. Would she return in the morning, coughing up the remains of the young witch?

Closing her eyes for a few moments, Lilith cleared the horrible images from her mind. She could not bring herself to believe that Luz would harm Amity, no matter the form she took. It wasn’t till the lights from the many manors began to appear that the two women began to feel a bit of ease. This far and they had not found any signs of an attack. Eda peered at the ground once more, the moonlight bright enough to light their path. The tracks of the young witch had stopped, as did Luz’s paw prints. The women once again turned to meet each other’s gazes, concern returning to their heterochromia eyes. “I’ll check this side if you check the other,” Eda suggested, pointing towards the woods off to one side of the beaten dirt path.

Lilith gave a curt nod, pulling out two sheets of paper. She handed one to Eda before nearing the edge of the woods. Once they were both on opposing sides, they waited to be hidden by the trees before gently tapping the pieces of paper and watching as they balled up to form faint balls of light. Eda’s heart ached, remembering how excited Luz had gotten when she had cast her first glyph all those years ago. Lilith stared at her sister from the shadows. “Edalyn?” She gently called out, noticing that her sister had not moved since entering the forest edge. Eda turned to stare at her older sibling, a weak smile appearing on her face. “I’ll be fine Lily, let’s just find our girl and bring her home. I don’t want to think about what could happen if someone finds her before us.” Eda admitted. Her mind had been racing since leaving the house. Though some were about what Luz could have done to Amity, others ranged from the girl being hunted by demon hunters or having attacked an innocent civilian. No doubt about it, either of those would end in disaster and most certainly death for the scared girl.

Eda felt bile rise into her throat. She refused to think like that. She would bring her kid home, where she would be safe and could be looked after. They would figure this out. They would fix this. They had to. She could not let Luz go through all that she had.

Alone.

Being looked at as a freak for something out of her control.

The memory of her first transformation flashed through her mind. The screams of the crowd as they threw trash at her. The fear she felt as she didn’t understand what was happening. She refused to let her student experience the same feelings. She would keep her safe. She would heal her before the curse worsened. She refused to let Luz live her life with the same fate she had. Thus, she continued forward, continuing to call out for her student.

Amity remained still and quiet. Luz’s hand remained over her eyes, and her back ached as Luz’s nails roughly gripped at her. The sharp nails had ripped Amity’s top and threatened to pierce her skin, but she didn’t care. Luz was upset. Something was wrong and she didn’t understand what was happening. All she knew is that Luz needed her, thus she would be there for her. Luz would tell her what was wrong when she was ready, however, Amity didn’t know how long she could wait. She wanted to find the source of her problems and rid her of them. Luz didn’t deserve to be sad. She didn’t deserve to be afraid. Amity’s fingers continue to gently rake through Luz’s soft hair, something the young afro-latina always enjoyed.

“Luz, I promise I’m not mad,” Amity whispered, hoping it would reassure her friend. Luz simply whimpered, almost as if she refused to believe the words Amity spoke. The situation was beginning to make Amity feel anxious. She wanted to help, wanted to know what had been going on. Luz’s nails continued to unknowingly scratch at Amity’s back. The young witch winced, sure that blood was building at the surface of her skin; waiting for Luz’s nails to break the flesh and allow it to escape. With a soft blush, Amity gently grasped Luz’s wrist, feeling the girl tense against her. Though Luz tried to keep Amity’s vision blocked, her arm had been growing tired due to being raised for quite some time. The green-haired witch placed a gentle kiss against the palm of her hand. Luz’s own face began to burn; however, her body began to relax at the sign of affection. Amity kept her eyes closed as she followed Luz’s arm all the way down to her face. She cupped her face in her hands, bringing the girl up from her stomach.

Luz stared at Amity’s face. She took note of the soft blush that she missed, as well as the way the moonlight bounced off her green hair. Luz’s eyes spared a glance at Amity’s hairline. Her brown roots were gone. Luz’s eyes narrowed as she scowled.

She hated Amity’s mother.

Tiredly, Luz pressed her forehead against Amity’s. She had released the back of the girl’s shirt, causing Amity’s body to relax. The young witch now shuddered when the wind gently brushed against the slightly exposed skin. “I ruined your shirt. I’ll get you another one.” Luz insisted, feeling where her nails has cut the fabric apart as if it were ribbon. Amity gave a slight shake of her head. “Don’t worry about it, I have plenty more.” She insisted. She wasn’t lying, her closet was full of designer clothes and this just happened to be one of the thousand that she owned. It’s not like she really wore it anyway. It wasn’t something she had gotten on an outing with her friends of siblings, thus it meant just about nothing to her.

“Luz, may I open my eyes?” Amity asked, her thumbs gently brushing against Luz’s cheeks. The girl leaned into her friend's palms lovingly. Amity’s hands moved slightly as Luz gave a slight nod. Slowly, Amity opened her eyes. Her golden ones connected with Luz’s chocolate ones, though in the moonlight Amity caught a glimpse of gold mixed in now. Her fingers shifted from Luz's cheeks to brush against her ears. Luz’s face seemed to change colors in an instant. The soft blush on her cheeks now causing her face to burn. Amity noticed that Luz’s ears must be sensitive now, maybe just as sensitive as Amity.

She made a mental note of her new discovery.

The sounds of twigs breaking and footsteps nearing them caused them both too tense. Had someone seen Luz tackle Amity into the woods? Had someone walking down the path noticed the abrupt stop in footsteps and the large paws that followed?

“Luz?! Luz where are you!?” Eda’s voice carried over the surrounding area, causing the two girls to stare in the direction the noise came from. Luz’s grasp on Amity tightened, the young girl holding onto her friend as if they’d be pulled apart any moment. Less than a minute later, a bush nearby rustled, and out walked the owl lady, eyes quickly landing on the two girls. Her shoulders relaxed as she stared with a large triumphant smile at her apprentice. She’d finally found her. And as a plus, the Blight girl appeared to be in one piece!

“Edalyn! Have you found them yet?!” Lilith called, having moved over to Eda’s side of the woods not too long ago, having no luck finding tracks or anyone nearby on her side. The teens shared as a look. Amity’s eyes holding confusion on the situation and Luz’s holding guilt. “Oh, Lily! You won’t believe it! It’s so horrible! The poor girl has been torn apart!” Eda wailed before throwing a wink towards the girl. The sounds of running, as well as tripping, caused the three women to turn their heads towards another side of the clearing. Lilith stumbled over a tree root, falling onto the ground. Her eyes quickly glanced at the trees, preparing to see intestines dangling from the branches. She lifted herself off the ground looking at her hands, expecting a pool of blood, only to find her hands dirty with a few scrapes from her fall.

She glanced up eye’s landing on the two girls in the center, and then at her sister. Eda had her hand over her mouth, covering up the giggles that threatened to escape. King tripped out of the same bush behind Eda. Finally, having caught up to the woman. His eyes widened with joy at the sight of Luz. “Luz, you’re okay!” He yelled, running towards the girls and latching onto one of Luz’s legs. Lilith glared at Eda. “That’s not funny!” She hissed, dusting herself off before walking over to her sister. “I know, but I just wanted to see your reaction.” Eda chuckled before once again peering at the girls. Luz had now buried her face against Amity’s neck, embarrassed by her mentor, meanwhile, Amity glared at the older women.  
  
  


“What did you two do to Luz?!” She demanded, holding onto the girl she loved even tighter. Luz tensed as her crush accused her mentor and her sister. “Amity-” Luz began but was cut off by Eda. “What do you mean what did we do! We didn’t do anything!” Eda huffed, crossing her arms in offense at the accusation. King whimpered as he felt the air shift, becoming thick with tension. “Really? Because last time I checked one of you was pretty good at cursing people!” Amity accused, eyes quickly shifting to glare at Lilith. Her ex-mentors mouth hung open in surprise, eyes wide at Amity’s accusation.

Eda hummed lowly, glancing at Lilith. “She’s got a point there,” Eda stated having to give credit to the younger girl. Lilith glared at her sister. “Do not feed into this girl’s delusions! Amity, we did not cause this, and we want nothing more than to help Luz.” Lilith stated, taking a step forward towards the girls. Amity’s eyes pierced through the woman. However, Lilith stood her ground. Lilith took a seat across from them, not wanting Luz to get upset, nor did she want Amity to summon an abomination. It was late and she’d already had enough excitement for the day. Amity didn’t appear like she was going to allow Luz out of her grasp any time soon. Eda’s eyes softened at the scene. “Kid, listen. We really need to take Luz home. We weren’t lying when we said that she’s not feeling well as you can obviously tell from the big wolf creature she just turned out of.”

“It’s just not safe for her to be out like this, at least until she can get a handle over her negative emotions. I hate phrasing it like that, but that’s what seems to be the trigger for her turning into our big fluffy friend. She really needs to be taken back home.” Eda tried reasoning with the girl. Amity’s facial features softened. She turned her head slightly, pressing her cheek against Luz’s head, which remained hidden against her neck. Luz couldn’t see her friends like she always did, which made her sad. Her body was going through unknown changes that scared her. Her new changes were preventing her from being who she was which was making her angry. This wasn’t even happening to Amity and the idea of it made her exhausted. She imaged how drained Luz felt.

This curse expected Luz to remain happy all the time. Like she was some puppy who felt everything except a negative emotion. That wasn’t who Luz was though. Luz cried for her friends, got angry for them, and at some points even scared.

Eda watched as the two girls held each other, obviously not planning to release each other any time soon. Lilith also glanced them over, though grew concerned as she took note of Luz’s bloodied feet. She remembered the broken glass in Luz’s room that they’d have to clean up. King had released Luz’s leg, now trying to climb in between her and Amity for cuddles. The sisters once again glanced at each other. Lilith stood, walking over to her sister and grasping her arm gently to lead her aside. “What are we going to do? We can’t just leave them out here.” Lilith stated, crossing her arms as she tried to think. “If only we could take the kid with us. It's clear Luz can keep herself in check enough around her.” Eda grumbled. Luz’s ears twitched as she picked up on their conversation. Her hearing having evolved with her body within the past few days.

King grumbled as he fell back, having a hard time getting in between the two girls. He sighed, eyes narrowed in annoyance until something else caught his attention. Leaning back slightly, he watched as Luz’s tail moved back and forth steadily. He recognized that tail wag. He did the same thing whenever he got happy or excited about something. Amity pulled away slightly from Luz as she heard a faint swishing noise. She glanced behind Luz, noticing the tail that was shifting back and forth against the ground. She bit in the inside of her cheek, trying her hardest not to squeal at how adorable it was.

No, this was bad. She didn’t need to think about how cute Luz’s tail was when it wagged. Nor how adorable her ears were when they twitched at random far off sounds. And certainly not enjoy how extra cuddly and lovey Luz was being. No, she couldn’t enjoy this.

However, she was weak for the girl in her arms, and no matter what shape or form would find her terribly adorable.

“Are you sure it’d be alright for Ms. Blight to stay Edalyn?” Lilith asked, not entirely against the idea of Amity staying over for the night. “I mean, the house is a mess now, and Luz’s room has glass all over it. Where would they even sleep?” She continued, sparring glances at the two girls occasionally. “Listen, I’ll handle that part alright?” Eda stated with a rather proud smirk. There was no doubt the witch had a plan going on in her head, one that clearly didn’t involve Lilith knowing it until it happened. Eda placed a reassuring hand on her sister’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. She proceeded to walk away from her, finding a new spot close to the girls. “Hey kid, what you got planned for tonight?” Eda asked, automatically confusing the girl.

Amity’s eyes shifted slightly; a bit embarrassed with being put on the spot. “Um, I was just heading home but-” She began but was quickly silenced when Eda held up a hand. “That’s perfect, so no plans, well how would you like to come over for a sleepover?” She asked, hands now on her hips as she stared down at the girls. As much as Amity would love to say yes, it wasn’t as simple as that. What if her parents were already home and wondering where she was? They certainly wouldn’t let her out to go to a random late-night sleepover. She could ask Em and Ed to cover for her, but who knows what they’d want in return.

Luz shifted away from Amity’s shoulder, causing Amity to release a small noise of distaste. Her golden eyes once again met with Luz’s brown ones.

She wouldn’t dare.

“Please Amity,” Luz asked, gently taking her hand in her own.

Oh, yes. Yes, she would.

“I’ve really missed spending time with you this week,” Luz stated, resting her cheek in Amity’s palm, and staring at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. No pun intended.

Amity’s face began to burn with embarrassment, meanwhile, Eda tried not to laugh at the scene that was unfolding before her. Amity would try and convince herself that this weird curse had something to do with Luz’s random act of affection. However, she knew what she was like with her when they were alone, Amity was just embarrassed that she’d be acting this way in front of people. Amity tried to shift her eyes away, growing more embarrassed by the second. Meanwhile, King stomped his foot, pointing at Amity and rambling about how she was stealing the affection and cuddles meant for him.

Finally, she caved. “Fine, I’ll ask Emira and Edric to cover for me.” Amity groaned, her blush refusing to disappear as Luz perked up. She squealed excitedly, tackling the youngest Blight onto the ground once again. Lilith came up beside Eda, who glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “You take Luz back to the house and do whatever you have planned, and I’ll stay here and wait for Amity,” Lilith stated, arms finding their way behind her back as she stood sophisticatedly. Eda snorted and smacked her sisters back, finding her uppity attitude amusing. “Come on kid, lets get you home before they send a search party out for this one here.” Eda motioned to Amity who looked like she was about to pass out due to the redness of her face.

Luz whimpered lowly, not ready to release her friend, even if she would be seeing her in the next hour or so. Reluctantly, she pulled away and shifted to stand. However, she winced, quickly falling back down as pain shot out through her feet. They all looked down, noticing the fresh cuts and small pieces of glass protruding from Luz’s feet. They definitely needed to be looked at and bandaged. Sighing, Eda reached down to pick up Luz, carrying the girl in her arms. King had stopped his tantrum, grasping Amity’s hand and trying to help her up now that Luz was off her. “Lilith will wait for you at the forest entrance, I’m going to take Luz home and tend to her feet,” Eda claimed as she stared down at the Blight girl.

Amity and Lilith watched as Eda turned away and headed back towards the road. Luz peered over Eda’s shoulder, giving a small wave towards Amity. Lilith watched as her sister left before turning her attention towards her ex-pupil. “Take your time, I have no clue what Edalyn has planned, but I’m sure it could possibly take a while,” Lilith stated as she followed Amity out of the woods. Amity remained quiet as she walked beside her ex-mentor, eyes remaining in front of her. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. About you cursing Luz.” She apologized guilt had been eating at her once everything had calmed down a reasonable bit.

Her ears twitched as she heard a soft sigh come from the older woman. “It’s alright. I understand you’re concerned for her. Edalyn and I will try our best to return her to normal.” Lilith spoke, hoping her words would ease the young witch's worries, even just by a bit. Once they were at the edge of the road, Lilith stopped. “I’ll wait for you here.” She stated, shifting a bit closer towards the shadows so that anyone who possibly passed by wouldn’t ask any questions. Amity was quick to walk down the trail however her speed began to slow down once she got closer to the houses. As she passed by, she noticed a few older witches rested on their manor’s front porches, enjoying the cooling air. Kids played in their yards with their expensive pets and others were busy playing with expensive toys as their parents conversed amongst themselves. 

How many times had her parents given her and her sibling's gifts just to keep them from bothering them? She’d lost count.

Once Amity reached the gate leading to the Blight manor, her eyes automatically began to scan the windows. Most of the lights had been turned on in the hallways, though windows that were opened to certain rooms remained dark. Her eyes peered at the living room, the lights off though the fireplace was lit. Once inside Amity tried her best to creep up to her room without anyone noticing, though she knew that was wishful thinking. “How was your evening with mom?” Emira’s voice asked from down the hall. Amity glanced in her direction, noticing that her sister wore a comfortable pair of pajamas to keep her warm and held a mug of most likely spidercider. “It was fine,” Amity claimed as she walked into her room, her sister following.

Emira gently closed the door and walked straight to her sister’s bed. Amity was quick to grab an overnight bag to begin stuffing a pair of pajamas in and whatever else she might need. With a raised brow, Emira watched. “Fine enough to the point you’re packing to run away?” She tried to joke, but it fell on deaf ears. Amity was busy debating between two different pairs of pajamas, something Emira realized her sister did whenever she went to stay with a certain human. Chuckling, Emira took a sip of her cider, shifting to rest on her stomach. “Going to stay the night at a friend’s?” She asked, staring at her sisters back. “If so, I think Luz would love the cute little bunny pajamas you never wear. Remember when Edric and I got them for you last year? It hurts that we never see you wear them.” Emira pouted, which earned her a sharp glare from her younger sibling.

Once Amity had turned to look deeper into her wardrobe, preferring a possible outfit she got on an outing with Willow, that’s when Emira noticed it. “Amity, what happened to your shirt?” Concerned was laced in her voice, as her usual smile disappeared. Emira was quick to sit up, putting the cider on Amity’s bedside table to be forgotten. Walking over to her sister, Emira gently grasped Amity’s shoulder to keep her in place as she stared at the rips. Excuses began to form in Amity’s mind, though none seemed reasonable to give. Her older sister was too clever to believe one of her lies. Emira gently moved some of the fabric aside, noticing the nasty red marks of obvious claws. “Amity, were you attacked by something?” She asked, her thumb gently brushing over her sister's reddened flesh. Amity began to panic, she couldn’t tell Emira what was going on with Luz when she didn’t really understand the situation herself. “I was passing by a griffin farmer and one of them swiped at me as he was leading them into their pasture,” Amity winced at how bad the lie sounded.

Emira stopped. Amity wasn’t telling her something. Something that obviously needed to be kept a secret. Her eyes narrowed as a silence built between them.

“Can you help me hide the shirt from mother?” Amity’s voice brought Emira out of her thoughts. Her sister blinked, confused. “Because she won’t believe me when I tell her a random wild griffin did it.” Her voice broke, tears finally spilling from her eyes. Emira was quick to turn her sister around, pulling her into a hug. Her hand covered the tears while her other hand rubbed the top of her back. Amity’s body trembled as she cried against her sister, grasping the back of her sister’s shirt like Luz had done to her earlier. “Amity, please tell me what’s wrong.” Emira requested. As much as she wanted to know who had hurt her baby sister, she knew she wouldn’t tell her the full truth, so even just a hint was better than nothing. Just a little light on the subject.

“I don’t know what’s going on with her and I want to help but I don’t know how.” Amity sniffled a sound that made Emira cringe slightly. She’d be changing pajamas once she left Amity’s room. Emira gently shushed her sister, rubbing her back as she allowed her sister to cry. “Who are you wanting to help Amity? What’s wrong?” Emira tried pushing her luck to see what her sister would say however, she weakly shook her head refusing to tell. Emira wasn’t going to force her. She wouldn’t involve herself unless she believed she needed to be. Unless Amity wanted her to. Amity finally pulled away from her sister after a few minutes of crying, looking up at her older sibling with tired eyes. She sniffled once again, face red and tear-stained. Some of her hair from her hair poof was out of place due to rubbing her face against the fabric of her sister’s shirt.

Emira took one of her hands from Amity’s back, bringing it towards her face to gently wipe the tears away. Reaching up she smoothed some of Amity’s hair back down, listening to her sister choke on her own sobs. “Please just help me hide the shirt from her.” She begged, her eyes holding fear of the woman she spoke of. Emira looked past Amity, reaching into her closet to grab something. She pulled out a green sweater Willow had gifted to her last year. Slowly, Emira slipped the fabric off the hanger and into Amity’s hands. She turned around, a sign to her little sister that she wanted her to change. Amity was quick to put on the new shirt, though she held the torn one in her hands anxiously.

Once Amity cleared her throat, Emira turned around, silently walking over to her sister. She took Amity’s hands in hers, gently rubbing that backs of them with her thumbs before slipping the fabric from her hands. “So, you’ll hide it?” Amity asked with anxiety. Emira pretended to think about it, eyes shifting around the room. “Hide what? I’ve never seen this article of clothing before in my life.” Emira lied, hiding the top behind her. Amity released a shaky breath before Emira once again brought her into a hug. “Mother and father aren’t home yet, though they will be soon. For all they know you’re at a last-minute slumber party with Skara and the others.” The older sibling gave the rundown of the story she prepared to tell. “And I’d hurry and clean my face. Don’t want any of the servants telling our parents that you were crying. What an uncomfortable conversation that’ll be between the three of you.” Emira warned before leaning down to kiss her sister’s forehead.

She released Amity, turning once more to grab the now cold spidercider from her little sister’s table. The older Blight tossed the shirt over her arm before heading towards the door, letting herself out. Amity released a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Quickly, she rushed out of her room to the nearest bathroom to clean her face and brush her teeth before anyone saw her.

Lilith waited patiently on the road, listening to the animals as they ran around in the forest around her. Oh, how she enjoyed the silence compared to the chaos of the owl house within the past few days. Once Amity came into view, overnight back slung over her shoulder, Lilith straightened her posture. She led the young girl back down the road, the journey mostly quiet except with a few questions here and there about the girls schooling. Once back at the owl house, Amity was not prepared for the sight that awaited her.

  
  
“Ta-da!” Eda announced arms spread as she presented a medium-sized tent which had patches in a few spots where holes had formed due to age. The tent had been placed at the back of the house near the edge of the woods, so if anybody came towards the front of the house it wouldn’t be noticed. However, it was in a slightly private location. Amity and Lilith exchanged a look. “This is your plan!?” Lilith growled, less than happy with the living situation that Eda was providing the teenagers. “I know right? Isn’t it great?!” Eda asked with so much enthusiasm that it concerned Amity just a bit. The tent appeared spacious, looking that it could hold two to three people, so it wasn’t as if Eda was placing them in a cramped room. Amity had to give her a bit of credit for that.

The eldest Clawthorn rubbed the space between her eyes, clearly irritated. “When you said you had a plan, I expected maybe a pillow fort or something! May even cleaning out another room! Not this!” Lilith growled, motioning to the tent that looked like it was on its last leg. “Oh, come on Lily! You used to love this tent when we were younger! Now it gets to be the little hideout of these two teenagers.” Eda stated with a crooked smile, clearly seeing no problems. Lilith was about to retort; however, Amity spoke up. “I think it’s fine. Um, thank you, Miss Owl Lady, is uh, Luz already inside?” Amity asked, clearly not wanting to see the two sisters fight let alone be in the middle of it. The sisters exchanged a look before glancing at the girl once more. “See, she doesn’t mind,” Eda smirked, which her sister rolled her eyes at. “Sure, is kid. However, she’s a little sensitive right now since she got a bit emotional when I was tending to her wounds. Thus, she’s a little, um, between half and half right now.” Eda tried her best to explain the situation but was interrupted by a loud whine coming from inside the tent. “Eda! You promised not to tell!” Luz groaned, clearly embarrassed by her mentor’s words.

Eda rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, you don’t look that bad, you definitely rock the fur look!” Eda claimed, which caused Amity to raise a brow in curiosity. “Well, besides all that, I’ll let you girls get comfortable for the night. Try to play nice.” Eda stated, grabbing her sister and pulling her away and towards the house. “Have a good night Amity! If you need anything let us-!” Lilith was cut off as Hooty slammed the door on her. Taking a deep breath, Amity moved closer to the tent. She grabbed the zipper, pulling it down, though jumped back slightly in surprise. A pile of blankets rolled out of the tent, which appeared to take up most of the space. Clearly, they wouldn’t be cold tonight.

Amity crawled in halfway before kicking her shoes off to place them neatly outside the tent. Shifting slightly to look around the tent Amity was surprised to see it vacant except for herself. “Luz? Where are you?” She asked, setting her bag off to the side in a partially empty corner. She pulled the blankets back inside, dusting them off before rezipping the tent. “I’m over here.” Luz muffled voice came from a rather large pile of blankets and pillows that made it clear her body was hidden underneath. Amity moved closer, preparing to lift some of the blankets up. However, it was clear the Luz was grasping them from underneath, preventing the green-haired witch from doing so. “Come on, you know I won’t judge you,” Amity promised, as she gently tugged at the blankets. Luz didn’t budge.

With a sigh, Amity turned around to grab her overnight bag. “I’m going to change so don’t you dare peek,” Amity stated, eyeing the mass of pillows and blankets. Her harsh stare didn’t waver. “Luz,” She grumbled, not hearing the girls reply. Meanwhile, Luz whimpered in embarrassment. “That only happened one time and it was an accident! But I promise not to look! I’m even turning around!” Luz shot back, clearly embarrassed with the memory. Amity watched as the girl under the blankets roughly shifted, most likely turned around now. She bit the inside of her to keep a smile from appearing as Luz stuck out her tail from the blankets, showing that she was turned around as promised.

Quickly, Amity changed, and fixed her hair, crawling back over to the large mass. She lied down in the direction the Luz was pointed towards and felt the gentle smack of Luz’s tail against her foot as it swished back and forth. The girls sat in the quiet, Amity now with her arm partially draped over Luz’s hidden form. She rested her head on one of the many pillows, her free hand splayed out at the edge of a blanket that covered Luz.

Eda watched from the newly repaired window, warm mug in hand to help bite the chill in the air. King was busy sulking in the living room, wanting to go outside and sleep with the girls which Eda refused. She knew Luz had been feeling trapped the past couple of days, thus she felt it was appropriate to let the girl detox in the presence of one of her close friends. Lilith sat at the kitchen table, drinking her own warm drink as she skimmed through a book. Eda’s eyes shifted to peer at the pages. “I don’t see why you’re reading that.” She sighed, taking a seat beside her older sibling. “It doesn’t hurt to be precautious, just in case something happens.” Lilith defended, flipping one of the many old pages. The page she had flipped to had an image drawn of a wolve's mouth, a type of liquid dripping from its fangs and into a vile that a hand held out.

Their mismatch eyes scanned the rough pages. “I don’t think Luz will bite her. Besides, it’s been years since werewolves attacked witches. I’d say we’re pretty peaceful.” Eda grumbled as she turned away from one of the crudely drawn images of a werewolf ripping a witch apart. “I understand that Edalyn, but Luz doesn’t know about all the enemy’s witches used to have. Let alone with werewolves. If she makes one wrong move, there’s no doubt about it that the people of the isles will turn her on.” Lilith sighed as she placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. Eda tensed before relaxing. “I know. Maybe we should have a talk with her once the kid leaves and everything settles down just a bit.” Eda requested, placing her hand over her sisters.

Her sibling gave a small nod of understanding before releasing her shoulder. Lilith closed the book before picking it up to put it away. She wished her sister goodnight before heading up to her room, King whining that he wanted to sleep with her since he wasn’t allowed to sleep with Luz and Amity. Eda sighed as she stared down at the table, tired. Her eyes then shifted to the pile of potion books on the counter. With a sharp inhale, Eda once more took a drink from her mug. She placed it down before walking over to the cauldron, relighting the flame and turning one of the books to a new page.

Meanwhile, Amity had already drifted off. She had crawled under one of the many blankets Eda had provided. She’d filled the tent with light chatter, something Luz had requested. Simple stories of her day, life at Hexside as well as Willow and Gus. Amity knew Luz missed them.

Amity’s hand remained on the edge of the blanket, being so far gone, she didn’t even feel the fabric move.

Nor did she really feel the soft furry hand that reached out and gently grasped hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Lumity content will be added in the following chapters! I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I aim to have at least one chapter out a week!  
> Please feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing your feedback!


	4. Keeping Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With nearly three weeks having passed, Willows's concern only grows. It isn't until she runs into Lilith and receives a message from Luz that her curiosity finally peaks.  
> ________________________________________________________________________________________  
> I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I aim to have at least one chapter out a week!  
> Please feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing your feedback!
> 
> Art and permission were given to use by Saatiew@SaatieW on twitter!  
> Feel free to follow me on my social media for updates on the story!  
> Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired , Instagram: _tiredleaf_ , Tumblr: tiredleaf

Willow's eyes twitched tiredly, the screaming alarm clock beside her bed reminding the young witch that it was a school day. With groggy movements, she reached for her glasses that rested on the nightstand beside her bed. She sat up, slipping her glasses on and catching the scent of dragon bacon in the air. Her eyes widened and a tired smile appeared on her face. It meant her dads had the day off. As much as she wanted to rush down and greet them with a large-good morning hug, her eyes could not help but shift over to the crystal ball on her desk. Usually, around this time Luz was calling her to see if she was awake or either both she and Gus were trying to bring her into a call together. Willow slipped out of bed, raising her hand to tap against the crystal ball.

You have zero missed calls/messages

She circled her finger in the air, the crystal ball flashing various images till finally showing Willow her call log. Her eyes stared at Luz’s name, with the information off to the side that read that their last conversation had been around two nearly three weeks ago. She was concerned. She had not heard from Luz in nearly three weeks. She remembered when Amity came back to school that Monday, completed school assignments in hand. She looked tired, and whenever Willow and Gus asked about Luz’s wellbeing, she was short and to the point to tell them that she was still feeling sick. Her heart ached. She wanted nothing more than to visit Luz herself, just for her mind to feel more at peace.

Willow's mind goes back to last Friday, remembering how she tried to give Amity some flowers to give to Luz. The green-haired witch had just smiled at her and gently pushed the flowers away, stating it would mean more to Luz if she received them from her when she felt better. Willow had watched with sad eyes as Amity disappeared down the road towards the owl house. Gus had suggested that they follow her one day, however, Willow was quick to shut down the idea of invading Luz’s privacy. Although, it did sound tempting.

Once again, she tapped her crystal ball, watching as the images disappeared in a purple mist. “Willow, darling! Are you up? Breakfast is ready!” One of her dads called out to her. “I’ll be down in a minute!” She responded, rushing to her closet to change into her school uniform. She was quick to fix her hair and brush her teeth as well as water her plants. Quickly, she made her way downstairs. One of her dads stood at the stove, flipping some more dragon bacon before placing it on a plate he kept beside him. Her other father stood beside his husband, watching with loving eyes as he cooked and sipped his coffee. “Good morning!” Willow greeted them both cheerfully. “Good morning!” They responded back in unison. “Your breakfast is on the table, and I packed your lunch today. I remember you saying that the Monday lunches have been tasting a bit odd lately, and I don’t want you eating something that makes you feel sick.” Her dad stated as he pushed up his glasses.

Willow's heart swelled. “Thank you, dad.” She replied cheerfully before taking a seat in front of a plate at the table. Her father walked over, gently kissing the top of her head. She giggled as his beard tickled the side of her face just a bit and watched as he sat down beside her with his own plate. They both began to eat, holding light conversation which her other father soon joined in on once he sat down with his own breakfast. When it was time to go, Willow quickly gave her dads a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her school bag and lunch. They met their daughter at the door, waving goodbye and wishing her a good day as she disappeared into the crowd of people. The plant witch took her normal route, watching as people began setting up their stands for the day, and some younger children bumped by her legs as they raced each other to Hexside. She continued, however, she backtracked as she took notice of a woman with long black hair.

Lilith stood across from a stand that currently had a “Closed” sign put up, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Curiously, Willow approached the irritated woman. Meanwhile, others tried their best to avoid her, stepping around her to keep out of her sight. Her old emperor’s coven cloak was draped around her shoulders, most likely helping bite back the chill in the morning air as well as showing off her reclaimed status. Willows shivered. She should have brought a coat as well now that she thought about it. “Good morning Lilith.” Willow greeted as she approached the older woman. Lilith appeared to have jumped slightly, not expecting the random voice to call out to her. She turned her attention towards the teen, scowl morphing into a soft yet forced smile. “Ms. Parks, good morning.” She greeted.

“You don’t have to call me Ms. Parks, Willow is fine,” Willow claimed. Lilith simply hummed as she took a mental note. “So, is um, Luz returning to school today?” The younger woman asked, a hint of hope appearing in her eyes. Lilith glanced away as Willow asked about her friend. “Sadly, Luz is still under the weather,” Lilith informed the girl whose face seemed to drop at the news. Lilith’s hand balled up, her thumb rubbing against the side of her finger as she thought. “However, maybe she’ll return soon. She has been showing progress. I’ll have to speak to Edalyn about it as well as Luz.” Lilith claimed, watching as the girl’s eyes lit up slightly. She could not help the gentle smile that tugged at her lips. “Well, until then, tell Luz I hope she feels better and that we all miss her!” Willow requested, before turning away to head towards school with a bit more pep in her step. Lilith’s eyes softened and she finally released a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

Once she arrived, Willow took note of Gus and Amity waiting for her by the steps. Amity was busy sifting through the new stack of homework that Luz had completed, handing Gus the homework for illusions. “Good morning Willow!” Gus greeted his friend, waving at her with the hand that held the homework. Amity turned towards her friend, a soft smile appearing on her face at the sight of her. “Morning Willow.” She greeted, shifting through the papers and holding out the homework for the plant course. “Morning you two.” Willow greeted, happily taking the homework from Amity. The group made their way up the staircase, Willow glancing over the homework that Luz was to turn in. “Are the notes we’re sending Luz helping her? My teacher also wants her to know that a test is coming up and if she will be able to attend. If not, then it may count against her.” Gus stated. Willow watched as Amity’s body tensed slightly at the news. “I’m sure she could possibly come in for the day, I’d just have to ask the owl lady. Also, she’s very thankful for the notes and told me to tell you that she owes you one.” Amity stated, gaze shifting to stare at Gus. Willow watched her friend curiously. “So, do we know what she has? Has Eda taken her to get checked out or anything?” The plant witch asked as they stopped at her locker. Amity’s gaze shifted, a bit of sweat forming on the nape of her neck as she tried to think of an excuse. “Not really, she’s just feeling a bit under the weather. Eda says it must be a human thing.” Amity internally cringed at how bad that sounded.

Willow raised a curious brow at her friend, meanwhile Gus’s eyes widened. “So, it’s a human only sickness! Since, you know, you haven’t gotten it yet.” Gus claimed, slipping his bag from his shoulders to dig around in. Willow and Amity exchanged a curious look with each other before turning their attention once more to the younger boy. Gus pulled out one of his many notebooks about humans, flipping through some of the pages while mumbling “Not that one,” under his breath. The two girls peered at the clock on the wall to see how much time they had left before classes until Gus brought them back with a loud “I found it!”. He pulled out a red notebook with “Human Illnesses” scribbled on the front, with a skull and crossbones doodled as well. The two girls did not like where this was possibly going.

“So, hear me out, but if it’s as serious as Eda and her sister are making it out to be then,” Gus began, rapidly flipping through the notebook to stop at a random page. “Luz may have the plague!” Gus claimed, quickly showing them a page of doodles and symptoms sprawled across it. Amity’s eye twitched, before she looked ahead of her, adjusting the straps of her bag on her shoulders. “No, it’s certainly not that.” She claimed with a bored tone, starting down the hall to go to her own locker. Willow glanced at Gus as he was busy scratching at his head with a pencil, mumbling about what else it could be. The plant witch quickly followed her friend, stopping beside her as she opened her locker. “So, how was Luz this weekend?” She asked, tilting her head slightly.

Amity thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “She’s getting better.” She claimed, stepping back as her locker closed its mouth. Amity glanced at Willow, her eyes holding clear concern for her best friend. Her shoulders dropped slightly as she reached out to place a hand on Willow's shoulder. “Listen, I miss her being here to. I can see if I can get some information from Lilith and the owl lady about Luz’s return if you’d like.” Amity offered. Willow bit the inside of her cheek, preventing herself from telling her friend that she had spoken to the coven member that morning on the way to school. “That would be nice.” Willow agreed, a small smile masking her growing concern as she was left in the dark. Amity once again gave her friend a reassuring smile before wishing her a good day and the promise that she would meet her at lunch.

Meanwhile, Lilith’s fingers tapped in irritation on the counter of the still closed stand. The man behind her stared, clearly irritated himself at her presence. “Excuse me Ms. Lilith, but I feel you’re scaring all my customers away!” He barked. Lilith was quick to shoot the man a glare, though this only seemed to irritate him more. “Why are you waiting at a juice stand anyway! Most people drink coffee! Plus, if you want juice so bad, there are literally four other stands on this road! Why do you have to scare the people away in front of my stand!?” He growled, causing a woman beside him to jump due to his outburst. Lilith inhaled, trying to calm her nerves. “I apologize for standing here, but I really need to speak with the owner of this stand,” Lilith stated, fixing her composure before she snapped at the man.

The man sucked his teeth in irritated, causing Lilith’s ears to twitch at the sound as well as her eye. “Well you’re going to be standing there a while because-” The man was cut off as Lilith slammed her hand against his table. “What happened? Did they sell the place?! I knew it was suspicious that they had not opened yet! Who were the original owners and where can I find them!?” She asked hastily, becoming more irritated at the idea that she had wasted her morning standing at a closed, and possibly sold, stand. The man’s brow furrowed, people clearing away from the two as they felt the tension rising in the air. “-Maternity leave. The owner and his wife have closed the stand for a while due to his wife’s pregnancy.” The man growled. Lilith blinked, her cheeks burning a soft pink due to the embarrassment of her outburst.

“I see. Well, I guess it would do no good with me standing here then will it.” She cleared her throat as she made her claim. “Exactly! So, get out of here!” The man snapped, making motions with his hands for her to leave. Lilith’s eyes narrowed before she smacked at one of the items on the counter. An orange slipped from its spot and landed on the ground. The man continued to glare at her as she turned away, head held high as she made her way back home.

She showed him.

Luz rested inside the tent that Eda had set up for her and Amity nearly two weeks ago. She had lied down in the spot where Amity would usually sit as she helped her study and do her schoolwork. Her tail wagged at the thought of her. She did not get to stay over any the past weekend due to it possibly raising suspicion with her parents, however, she enjoyed the few hours each day she had come by. Her cheeks burned as she remembered the first morning, waking up after Amity had found out about her curse. At some point of the night, Luz being Luz still desired cuddles, especially when the youngest Blight was around. Her arms had found their way across Amity’s waist, having brought the green-haired witch close to her in her sleep. Luz’s face was pressed against Amity’s back, nose resting against the crook of her neck as she slept.

Meanwhile, Amity had woken a few moments ago, face red as Luz held her. This was not the first time they had cuddled like this, and she knew it would not be the last. However, being in the arms of her crush always made her face heat up, and she doubted that would ever change. Her hands had found Luz’s, now back to normal except for the sharp nails that had replaced her well-kept ones. Amity’s fingers gently touched the tip of Luz’s nails, gently applying pressure to test the sharpness. She stopped after a few moments, concerned that she would break her skin, and really did not want to deal with getting blood anywhere in the tent. Luz’s hand twitched at the contact, tiredly seeking out Amity’s nearby hand, and interlocking them.

Amity felt like she could pass out with how red her face was. “Are you awake?” Luz mumbled against Amity’s back, making no effort to move from the warmth the witch provided. The air was chilly, and Amity was grateful for all the blankets that Eda had provided. “I am.” She finally responded, her voice causing Luz to hum in response. “I’m sorry about last night.” Luz apologized, slipping her hand from the girl in front of her, much to Amity’s distaste. However, Luz gently grasped Amity’s wrist, lifting it along with her arm just a bit to stare at it. The early morning sun caused the tent to light up, allowing Luz to examine Amity’s wrist. It was bruised from where Luz’s wolf form had kept her pinned. Luz did not need to see her other wrist, nor her legs to know they were bruised too.

Luz’s ears twitched as guilt ate at her. Her thumb gently rubbed at the sore skin. “I’m so so sorry.” She whispered into Amity’s back, feeling tears threaten to spill from her eyes. Amity’s eyes remained on Luz’s hand, though they widened as Luz’s nails began to extend, her hand also appearing to enlarge slightly. Amity quickly pulled her hand away, shifting to turn around press her forehead against Luz’s. “Hey, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Amity whispered. Luz sniffled, brown eyes sparkling with fresh tears as she stared into Amity’s golden ones. Eda said that Luz’s curse was connected to her emotionally, so the first thing to do was to calm Luz down. “Can you breathe for me? In and out slowly.” She instructed, reaching up to cup Luz’s face between her hands. Luz whimpered at the contact, leaning into Amity’s touch. Amity took in a large amount of air before slowly releasing it.

She repeated this multiple times before stopping, noticing that Luz was copying her. Amity was quick to notice that Luz’s hands had returned to normal, giving a low sigh of relief. “Do you feel better?” Amity asked, gently pushing away some of the loose strands of hair that had fallen into Luz’s eyes. She gave a small nod, though made no other move to leave Amity’s hands. “Do you want me to go get the owl lady? Maybe Lilith or King?” Amity asked once again. Luz’s eyes shifted away as she thought before returning to stare at Amity. “I just want to lay here with you for a while.” Luz requested, slipping her arms around Amity’s waist to pull the girl closer. A appeared on Luz’s face, and Amity made a note not to stand anytime soon since she felt weak in the knees. “So, now that you’re calm and hopefully feeling a bit better, I do have a question.” The green-haired witch awkwardly coughed out.

Luz stared at her with a raised brow. “I’ll try my best to answer it, come on Amity, you can be upfront with me,” Luz reassured her friend, gently rubbing her back. Amity’s face burned in embarrassment. “Was it really necessary to lick my face in the forest?” She asked eyes narrowed slightly at the embarrassing memory. The light seemed to fade from Luz’s eyes as her face began to burn, the memory clear in her mind.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Luz lied.

Amity’s eyed widened slightly, a gasp escaping her. “Yes, you do! If you remember the bruises, then you must remember licking my face!” She growled, sitting up now, her face burning a bright red. Luz slowly turned over to face away from Amity. “I think you bumped your head when I pushed you down, plus I think I may sleep for a few more hours,” Luz stated, burying her embarrassed face into one of the many pillows. “You’re an awful liar.” Amity huffed. Luz could not help the smile that stretched across her face; thus, she bit her bottom lip to try and control it. “Amity, are you claiming that I gave you the dog version of a kiss?” She asked, voice clear with teasing intent. Amity quickly turned her head away, refusing to stare at the girl any longer. “Of course not! I’m just asking why you did it!” She growled underneath her breath, her cheeks betraying her true emotions.

Chuckling, Luz turned over, eyes narrowed as she took in the Blights embarrassed appearance. Luz shifted, propping her arm up against a pillow to rest her chin on her hand. “Amity, are you wanting a kiss?” Luz teased, causing the girl's eyes to widen. “No, of course not! Why would I want a kiss?!” Amity gave a forced and embarrassed laugh. Luz shifted, crawling over towards the girl who was quick to crawl back. Luz’s tail swayed behind her, giving Amity the feeling of being stalked as if she were prey. “I think you want a kiss, or you wouldn’t have brought it up.” Luz purred, face getting closer to Amity’s. The witch quickly shot a hand up, pushing Luz’s face away. “Stop joking like that! Ugh! Where is the owl lady!? I need to tell her we’re awake!” Amity growled, trying to push her crush away.

However, Luz whimpered as Amity’s hand covered her mouth. “But don’t you want a kiss?” Her muffled voice asked once again as she tried to press against Amity’s hand. “No way, you have morning breath!” The Blight claimed, trying her best to push the human girl away from her. Luz chuckled as Amity succeeded in pushing her away, watching as her friend quickly reached for the tent zipper. Playfully, Luz grabbed her ankle, pulling the girl away from the entrance and back towards her. “Luz you stop that this instant! No! No kisses!” Amity’s screams could be heard from the owl house. Meanwhile, Lilith and Eda stared at the rustling tent from the kitchens window. “We should probably stop them before they break the tent,” Lilith stated as she drank from her morning cup of apple blood, however, she made no move to stop the two teens. “Yeah, we probably should.” Eda agreed, drinking from her own cup, as well as making no move to stop the two girls either. They watched as a flushed Amity finally fell out of the tent once she got it to unzip, quick to crawl out, though Luz was right behind her. “Stop it!” Amity barked; her face redder than either of the older women had seen it. With a raised brow, Eda turned and grabbed a tomato from the counter, holding it up against the window to compare it to Amity’s face. The sisters exchanged a look before laughing lightly.

“Don’t you dare come any clos-Luz!” Amity gasped as the human girl quickly grabbed her by the waist, tossed her over her shoulder with a squeal. “You put me down this instant!” The Blight growled, trying her best to wiggle out of her friend's grasp. Eda placed the tomato down, sharing one last smile with her sister before walking out to notify the girls that breakfast would be ready soon.

Luz held one of the many pillows tight against her chest, a pout clear on her face at the memory. She was still bummed she had not gotten a kiss from Amity.

The sound of something brushing against the tent caused Luz’s ears to twitch. Lazily, she shifted her gaze to stare at a face pressed against the tent, her eyes widened in horror at the sight. “Hoot! Lilith is back and needs to speak with you! Hoot!” Hooty screeched in its annoying voice. “Don’t break the tent with your beak!” Luz growled, gently pushing her hand against the house's face. Hooty screeched that he would try his best next time before disappearing around the house once more. Luz sighed, enjoying the comfort for a few more seconds. Once she felt energized enough, she left the comfort of the tent, making her way back towards the house where Lilith waited. The witch was sitting on the couch, glancing over a potions book she had gotten from the market on her way back home. Once the backdoor opened, her gaze quickly shifted to stare at the human who had entered.

“Ah, good morning Luz, how are you feeling?” Lilith asked, closing the book to gently pat the spot beside her. “I feel fine honestly. Has Eda left for work yet?” Luz asked, remember that Eda had taken up her task of delivering potions ever since she got cursed. Lilith shook her head, watching as the girl took the offered seat beside her. “She’s getting ready for the day and should be down soon. I actually need to speak with both of you.” Lilith claimed. As if on cue, King came bounding down the steps, skipping two at a time and nearly falling on his face. “Luz!” He called for her, running into her waiting arms. “I went into your room this morning and you weren’t there!” He whined, rubbing his skull against her as she cuddled him.

Luz’s eyes softened. “Sorry King, I couldn’t sleep well last night so I went out to the tent,” Luz confessed, her cheeks burning slightly. Lilith raised a curious brow at Luz’s confession; however, her attention was soon brought towards her sister who carried a large bag full of clanking bottles down the stairs. “Wow, thanks for the help King!” Eda growled, dropping the bag and standing up. The two women on the couch cringed at the sound of Eda’s bones popping. “Now, what exactly did you need to talk to us about Lily? And can you make it quick, I have stuff to get done.” Eda requested, leaning against the door frame of the kitchen. Lilith glared at her sister before clearing her throat. “Actually, I ran into Ms. Pa-, I mean, Willow this morning as I visited the market.” Lilith began, taking note of Luz’s widened eyes. “First off, she wishes you well and hopes that you feel better,” The coven leader claimed, turning her attention to Luz, whose grip seemed to tighten around King as she smiled happily.

She knew her friends were concerned for her, but for them to ask Lilith to tell her that they hoped she felt better just made her feel fuzzy inside. “Which brings us to the next topic, Edalyn, what are we going to do about Luz’s schooling?” Lilith asked, turning her attention towards her sister. The room went quiet. Luz felt an ache in her chest. She really did miss school, and she wasn’t thinking that just because her friends were there. No, she missed learning new spells, listening to the latest mischief, and events the school was planning. Everything that involved Hexside, she missed. Except when she got in trouble with Principal Bump, she could live without that. “I mean, maybe we could home school her for the time being? I mean, I left school around your age kid and I turned out fine!” Eda stated cheerfully, as she pointed her thumb towards herself.

Lilith and Luz exchanged a look of concern. “So, you’ll return Monday,” Lilith announced, causing Luz to squeal excitedly. Eda huffed with a pout as she was looked over by her older sibling. “What about her tail? And, you know, the ears?” King asked, which caused all eyes in the room to land on him.

Oh yeah, they had forgotten about those.

“I can enchant your school uniform to help you hide it. As for your ears, see if you can find something in the junk pile. I doubt you’d want to wear the uniforms hood the entire time.” Eda stated with a small smile. Luz squealed excitedly, reaching over to give Lilith a hug before rushing to Eda who waited for her with open arms. “However, you must promise to try and remain out of trouble, as well as keeping that temper of yours under control.” Eda chuckled as she ruffled Luz’s already messed up bed head. King stared at his friend with sad eyes, upset that she wouldn’t be around all day anymore. Lilith gave him a gentle pat of reassurance. “C-can I tell Willow and Gus?” Luz asked, staring up at her mentor with hope-filled eyes. Eda had to look away from her student’s puppy dog eyes. She thought it over for a moment before sighing. “Sure, but you have to keep those ears covered up and you can’t let them know. I just don’t feel comfortable with them knowing yet.” Eda confessed.

Luz gave a quick nod of understanding, squealing excitedly as she rushed up the stairs to get ready for the day. The two women watched as she disappeared before Eda quickly went to sit in Luz’s spot, her smile quickly fading. “Are you sure this is a good idea, Lily? What if she gets bullied and goes full-on rage mode? What if they find out and throw stuff at her! I know you said everything would be okay, but what if it isn’t?” The white-haired witch began to voice her concerns, her voice cracking on the last sentence. Lilith opened her arms, allowing Eda to fall into them and rest her head against her older sibling’s chest. King sat beside her, gently rubbing Eda’s side in reassurance. Lilith simply shushed her sister, running her fingers through her long white strands. “Edalyn, I want you to listen to me. We will make sure nothing is going to happen to her. Luz has a good head on her shoulders and a good group of friends that will help her stay out of trouble.” Lilith tried to reassure her sister. However, it didn’t mean she didn’t have her own worries for the human as well.

Yes, Luz would have her friends with her, and she would most likely stick to Amity like glue. However, Lilith had noticed a few strange things happening. Having caught Luz trying to chase a snake squirrel up a tree. Remembering opening the fridge to bones that no longer held meat on them. She had even gotten woken up to the sound of neighboring beasts howling late one night and could clearly hear Luz’s voice mixed in as it echoed throughout the house. Oh, what an awful night that was.

“You might want to head to work now dear sister. I’ll keep an eye on the human and make sure she stays out of trouble.” Lilith reassured her younger sibling, who shifted out of her arms, sniffling. Lilith took note of the tears that had escaped Eda’s eyes and reached up to brush them away. “Hurry along now, you don’t want Luz to come down and see you like this. You know she’ll be worried.” The dark-haired witch claimed, standing up and bringing her sister up with her. Eda sighed, understanding where her sister was coming from and picked up King. “You’re right. Just make sure she doesn’t do anything too reckless.” Eda chuckled as she sniffled once more. Lilith cringed at the sound before giving her sister a soft reassuring smile. She helped gather Eda’s belongings, opening the door for her to get the potions out. She waved goodbye as she disappeared down the road and closed the door before Hooty could begin talking her ear off.

The sound of running caught Lilith’s attention and caused the woman to turn back towards the direction of the stairs. Luz came down, nearly tripping, and smiling excitedly with a beanie in her hand. Obviously, she had already visited Eda’s trash pile or kept it stowed away somewhere. Possibly the latter, due to the well-kept state of it. Luz quickly placed it on her head, covering her ears in the process. “What do you think?!” She asked excitedly. Lilith stared at her, wide-eyed, and processing everything. “It looks nice. However, it’s a bit lopsided so you may want to adjust it.” Lilith stated with a soft smile. Luz quickly fixed the beanie, before heading towards the door. However, the older woman was quick to grab the teen by the back of her shirt. “And where do you think you’re going?” She asked with a raised brow.

Luz stared back at the woman curiously. “To tell Willow and Gus that I’ll be returning to school! Lunch should start soon so maybe I could surprise them!” Luz explained her plan, her tail wagging behind her rather quickly. Lilith stared at her tail, which Luz was quick to notice. Luz grabbed her tail, making it stop, and tugged it into her sweatpants. She gave an awkward laugh as Lilith stared down at her. “Maybe invite them here, that way we can keep an eye out and I can make sure you don’t let anything slip.” The woman claimed, once again taking a seat on the couch and picking up her book. Luz pouted. “You say that like I’m a loud mouth.” She puffed out her cheeks before taking a seat beside Lilith. “Because you are,” Lilith stated, turning back to the page she was at before.

Well, Luz was not expecting that answer.

She wanted to feel offended, but her brain was quick to bring up memories of secrets and things that weren’t meant to be acknowledged up. Her cheeks began to burn. “I’m not that bad.” She grumbled, pulling a blanket from around the couch to wrap around her. Lilith hummed lowly at the teen's comment, paying more attention to the book in her hand. Luz pulled out her phone, fiddling with it for a moment before the clock shifted to twelve. Lilith listened as Luz began to rapidly text on her phone. However, she shifted her eyes from her book to Luz once she heard the tapping stop. She stared at the human curiously, as the girl stared with a saddened expression at her phone. “Everything alright? You seemed so chipper just a few minutes ago.” Lilith claimed, finding it odd that the girl's mood seemed to sour so quickly.

“It is, it’s just. I don’t know how I feel about keeping secrets like this from them. We tell each other everything. What am I supposed to say when they get here?” Luz’s ears tried to droop as she voiced her concern, however, the beanie kept them in place. “Don’t think too hard on it. Just tell them a few things you humans feel when you are sick,” Lilith stated, though it didn’t appear to calm the girl’s nerves. She sighed. “Listen, it’s not that Edalyn and I don’t trust them to know what’s going on, it’s just better if fewer people know for now.” The woman tried her best to explain. “Amity knows though.” She sighed, which caused the woman’s eye to twitch.

“You literally tracked her down!” Lilith barked.

“I missed her though! And she was like, right there!” Luz whined.

Lilith groaned, rubbing the space between her eyes. How her ex-student fell for this girl was beyond her. Luz’s thumb remained over the send button, almost as if she were debating on inviting her friends. “Listen, you can’t tell them now, but you can tell them later. Once we get a better understanding of everything.” Lilith tried reasoning with her sister’s student, who seemed to think over what she was just told. After a few seconds passed Luz gave a small nod and hit send. “Alright, I understand.” She gave a small smile. Lilith's body relaxed as she returned to her book. “Good. Now on another hand, why were you out in that tent instead of your bed?” She asked, never noticing the girl beside her face burning a dark shade of red.

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Willow excitedly opened her bagged lunch, pulling out its contents and placing them in front of her. Gus sat beside her with his own tray of lunch, meanwhile it appeared that Amity had packed her own lunch as well. “You think the Monday lunches are tasting a bit off as well?” Amity asked with amusement laced in her voice. “Yeah, my dads heard me make a comment about it, so they packed my lunch today,” Willow admitted with slightly pink cheeks. Gus chewed his food as he stared at the girls with a raised brow. “I don’t know what you two are talking about, it tastes just as good as ever to me,” Gus claimed, meanwhile a tentacle poked out of the green goo on the tray and tried crawled away.

The two girls shared a look before going back to their own lunches. It was not unusual for the food to move a bit, but whatever Gus had gotten appeared to be a bit undercooked. The group fell into a light conversation. Mostly about classes, rumors they had heard, and the upcoming event of the month. “So, your family is hosting their yearly Spirits Ball?” Willow asked Amity as she took a bite of the food her father had prepared for her. She hummed lowly in enjoyment. How she missed him packing her lunches. Amity huffed, glaring at her food. “Sadly. Boscha is going to be there and Skara and Titan knows who else.” She grumbled in distaste. Willow felt her heart soften as her friend’s mood soured. “Hey, maybe you could sneak out and come get some candy with us,” Willow suggested, reaching over the table to gently grasp Amity’s hand.

Amity sighed, sending the plant witch a soft smile. “I’d like that. I’ll see what I can do.” She claimed, returning to her food. Willows scroll began to ring due to a notification, thus she summoned it. Gus and Amity nearly choked on their food as Willow gasped loudly. “What happened? Did something happen?” Gus asked as he gently beat his chest. “Luz invited us over!” Willow stated with excitement. Amity’s eyes widened, surprised by the message Willow had received. She could not deny she felt a slight ache of jealously, knowing she wouldn’t have Luz to herself anymore; however, she shook the selfish thoughts away. Luz deserved to have the support of her friends, not just her.

“I guess this means we get to tag along with you after school today,” Willow stated happily as she glanced at Amity. Amity shared a smile with her friend “I guess so. At least now you can finally give her those flowers.” She claimed, taking a bite of her food. Willow squealed excitedly, having to cover her mouth to contain her excitement. Gus was also energetic, writing down questions in his notebook about what he wanted to ask Luz. Amity watched; a bit anxious as her friends began to talk amongst themselves. She really hoped Luz knew what she was doing.

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Luz paced back and forth, anxiously staring at the clock on the wall. They would be here any minute and she was freaking out. “I think I’m going to be sick.” Luz groaned, falling beside Lilith who had not moved from her spot on the couch. “Well you can’t turn back now; they should be here any minute,” Lilith replied, turning the page as if it was no big deal. Luz pouted.

She was of no help.

Luz’s ears twitched at the sound of footsteps approaching, which then turned into sprints. The sounds of knocking quickly made Luz sit up. “Stop! Ow! Stop knocking so hard! Jeez! Gosh!” Hooty snapped, swinging the door open to prevent the teens from beating them anymore. As soon as Willow and Luz made eye contact, Luz jumped up racing to her friend who did the same. They nearly knocked each other down as they grasped each other, squealing in excitement. Everyone around them cringed at the loud noise. Lilith tried her best to slip out of the room, taking the book with her. She moved to the kitchen, deciding to give the teens privacy. Luz quickly ushered everyone in, closing the door before Hooty could join in on the conversation.

Willow and Gus took a seat beside Luz on the couch, meanwhile Amity sat at the very end. Willow took in Luz’s appearance. The sweatpants she wore to the baggy sweater, and oddly the beanie that rested on top of her head. It all seemed out of place, but at the same time, it all screamed Luz. And Titan had she missed her. Willow felt tears swell up in her eyes as she once again grasped her friend. “Geez Willow, I promise, I’m okay.” Luz tried to reassure her friend. Meanwhile, Willow refused to let go. “You just had me worried is all.” She whimpered, refusing to let go of her. Gus felt his own eyes water, joining in on the hugs. “I thought you had the plague! You were going to die!” Gus wailed, which caused Luz to raise a curious brow towards Amity. The girl simply covered her face in embarrassment at Gus’s claim.

With an awkward chuckle, Luz tried her best to pat her friend's backs. “There there, I’m feeling better now. No more puke and such.” Luz lied. Gus sniffled, reaching into his bag to grab a notebook. Weakly he began to write “And what else did you feel?” He asked, wiping the tears away with his sleeve. “Gus!” Willow scolded, meanwhile the boy quickly threw his hands up in defense. “But seriously Luz, what’s been happening?” The plant witch asked, causing both Luz and Amity to tense in their spots. “As I said, I’ve been sick and-” Luz began, however, was cut off.

“But Amity has been able to come and visit you and not us?” Willow interrupted her.

The room had gone quiet, Gus even stopped taking notes. Luz did not know how to answer that, mostly because she was not expecting it. From symptoms, to what she had done throughout her day, she was mostly prepared to answer. Telling her as to why she only allowed Amity around, she was not. “Well, uh, you see, Amity has been um-” Luz’s voice began to trail off. Willow's eyes narrowed, sensing the build-up of a lie. “I’ve been coming to Lilith for private lessons.” Amity interrupted. Everyone, including Lilith from the kitchen, stared at the green-haired girl. Her face was red due to her random outburst, and her golden eyes remained glued to the floor. She cleared her throat, gaining her composure.

“You don’t have to lie Luz. My parents currently do not want their children affiliated with the emperor’s coven, let alone the current leader.” Amity began, however, Lilith’s eye twitched at this news. “However, I believe that Lilith is still a very good teacher who could provide a lot of insight that could help me become a better witch.” Amity finished, eyes shifting nervously. The room remained quiet until Gus jumped up. “Woohoo! Amity has finally become rebellious!” Gus cheered, which caused the girls to cringe. “I’m not being rebellious! Besides, I have kept quiet about it just in case word got out. And Luz had been sick, thus I’ve been helping take care of her.” Amity continued, her chest tightening with guilt every time a lie slipped past her lips. Willow, however, remained skeptical.

Luz gave an awkward laugh. “Come on Amity, I thought you were wanting to keep that a secret,” Luz stated. “Well, secrets out now! And since you are feeling better, does this mean you’re returning to school?!” Gus asked excitedly. Luz gently rubbed the back of her neck. “Yep, I’ll be returning next Monday.” She admitted, watched as her group of friend’s eyes lit up. “You are?!” They all asked in unison, including Amity. “Haha, yep. We decided upon it today.” Luz confirmed, a soft smile making its way onto her face. “That’s great! That means you can make it to our illusions test next week so you won’t fail the class!” Gus cheered, meanwhile Luz’s eyes widened slightly. “I won’t what?” She asked, wondering if she had heard the energetic boy correctly.

“It doesn’t matter, you’re returning to Hexside! We need to celebrate!” The boy declared, pulling out his flags to wave them at random. “Ooo! Spirit hunting! We can do that this weekend!” Willow claimed. Luz blinked before giving an awkward laugh. “Yeah, spirit hunting, sounds fun.” She responded with an awkward joy, her ears twitching under her beanie. Willow noticed however and narrowed her eyes, though she did not make any comments.

The group spent a good bit of the evening, talking about their day, and even Luz got to use some of her excuses she had come up with. By the time, the sun had nearly set Luz was following her friends out of the owl house. “So, this Friday, be ready by six alright? Geez, this is going to be so much fun! You spent last Spirits Day in the human world with your mom, so it’ll be fun spending it with you this year!” Gus stated with pure excitement. Luz’s heart ached at the thought of her mom. She had not been able to see her since the curse started. Only sending her text messages and lies about having to study for tests and exams.

She missed her so much.

Amity had the desire to reach out and grasp Luz’s hand, to tell her everything would be alright. But not now. Not in front of them. Thus, she held her own hands behind her back. Willow gave Luz one last hug, rocking her back and forth dramatically.

“You can tell me the truth when you’re ready,” Willow whispered.

Luz’s body tensed. She pulled away to stare at her best friend, who had a sad smile on her face. “I know you have a reason for everything Luz, but it’s just not fair that you can’t tell us what’s wrong, however, when we’re upset you get to be there for us. I want us all to be there for you, but I know I cannot force you to tell the truth right now. So, I’ll wait. Wait till you are comfortable, and to be there and help you through it.” Willow's voice was basically a whisper. Luz felt her eyes water, and once again Willow brought her into a hug. Once they pulled away, Willow brushed Luz’s tears away, and started down the road with Gus, waving goodbye to her friend.

Once they were out of sight, Luz pulled her tail from her sweatpants. Amity bit back her laughter as Luz’s tail gently began to sway. Luz turned towards her, eyes a bit puffy, but a soft smile on her lips. “What are you giggling at?” She asked softly, making her way over to her friend. “Oh nothing, just your little happy tail wag. But, besides that, I think I should be heading home to.” Amity announced, causing Luz to whimper. “Can’t you stay a little longer?” She whined, trying to wrap her arms around Amity’s waist, however, the girl simply shifted around her. She knew if Luz got a hold of her she would not want to leave.

When did she ever want to return home?

Luz watched her with a pout. Amity adjusted her book bag on her back, giving the girl a soft smile as she walked backwards towards the road that would lead to her neighborhood. “I’ll see you this weekend.” Amity waved, turning away officially.

“Don’t I at least get a goodbye kiss?!” Luz whined as she called after her crush.

“Goodbye Luz!” Amity responded before disappearing into the forest.

Luz remained bummed out due to receiving no kiss from Amity.


	5. Spirits Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spirits Day has finally arrived, as well as a bit more information about the Boiling Isles history.
> 
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> I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I aim to have at least one chapter out a week!  
> Please feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing your feedback!  
> ___________________________________________________________________________________  
> Art this week was actually done by me! Saatiew was having problems with their computer, thus I used the preview image I created for this chapter for Instagram and twitter!  
> Feel free to follow me on my social media for updates on the story!  
> Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired , Instagram: _tiredleaf_ , Tumblr: tiredleaf

Eda groaned, sitting up in her nest with the cracking of her bones being the first thing she heard that morning. The sun was shining through the stained-glass window, in the now empty nest, signaling that King most likely was downstairs or got up in the middle of the night to sleep somewhere else. Her ears twitched at the sound of rustling downstairs and a thud followed by a loud “Ow!”. With a yawn, Eda climbed out of her nest and made her way out of her room and downstairs. Lilith was in the middle of fixing the ladder back into its proper position, haven fell off due to losing her balance. King was currently sitting at the table, drinking apple blood and eyeball eggs that Lilith must have prepared. Eda noticed the clean plate in the dish drainer, and two full ones sitting off to the side, covered up to be kept warm.

“Has Luz not come down yet?” Eda asked as she grabbed a plate for herself and sat beside King. The small demon had just finished his own plate, now reaching over to take a bite from Eda’s. She gently smacked his paw away without even looking. “Hey, no hitting!” King barked as he glared at Eda. “Well, no eating my food. Ask Luz if you can have hers.” Eda grumbled tiredly, taking a bite of the food her sister had prepared. “She hasn’t come downstairs, however, I don’t believe she’s in her room,” Lilith claimed, making her way into the kitchen to grab a glass of apple blood. Eda glanced into the living room from where she sat. It was nearly decorated for Spirits Day, the small family haven got a late start due to the current events that had recently come about three weeks ago.

Eda blinked in clear confusion. “Then, where is she? Did she hear a critter rustling around in the garbage last night and went to chase it?” Eda laughed, something King joined in on. Lilith rolled her eyes at her younger sister’s behavior. “But no, seriously, where’s the kid?” The white-haired witch asked as she reached over the table to grab her sisters drink and take a sip for herself. Lilith was quick to pull it back from her, grumbling out the comment that Eda should get her own. “I heard her come downstairs last night, but never heard her come back up so,” Lilith’s eyes shifted to glance outside the kitchen window towards the tent as she spoke. Eda sighed, understanding what her sister meant. “Is she out in that ratty old tent again? She never lets me in there!” King whined, crawling out of his chair to get onto the table and peer out the window.

The older witch rolled her eyes. “Obviously, she’s not going to. Let me try and put this nicely. So, she loves you dearly King, however, that tent to her is well,” Lilith’s voice faded debating on the word to use “Her territory.” She finished. King cocked his head to the side, clearly confused. “But wouldn’t she kind of consider the house her territory? I mean, she lives here.” King stated, sparing a glance towards Lilith. “Well, technically I own the house so it’s my “territory”. I guess Luz just feels like that little tent is a place she can call her own. Kind of like a little haven.” Eda suggested as she stood, finally deciding to get some apple blood for herself. King once more peered out the window. The sun illuminating the tent, and he could clearly see a body inside sleeping. He whimpered and gently pawed at the window.

Lilith walked over, gently picking up the small demon and setting him aside before he could dirty the window up any further. “She’ll be in shortly,” Eda reassured him, “And when she does come in, you know she’ll smother you with affection. At least till her friends get here tonight.” The woman claimed as she took a sip of her cup of apple blood. “However, I believe I should go wake her up. Decorating will help take her mind off her friends till this evening, plus I really need to wash those blankets.” Eda grumbled, making her way towards the back exit. King quickly ran after her, following her out and towards the tent where Luz slept. Eda could not help the smile formed on her face, hearing the gentle snores of her apprentice inside. As quietly as she could, Eda unzipped the tent and peered inside.

Her apprentice was huddled up in what she young girl considered Amity’s spot. A pillow squeezed closed to her as she cuddled it, with most of the blankets thrown over her. No doubt about it, the weather was proceeding to get chillier and Eda had to bet that it was hell sleeping out here during the nights. However, she knew her apprentice would not leave, especially with the scent of Amity lingering around.

She really needed to wash those blankets.

Crawling in, Eda gently grasped the girl’s side, shaking her to try and get her to wake. King whined, noticing the pillow, and crawled in as well. “Don’t cuddle the pillow! Cuddle me!” He demanded, trying to crawl in between Luz and the pillow. However, Eda was quick to grasp one of his furry legs and pull him back towards her. “Ow! What’s the big idea!?” He snapped, glaring at the older witch. “Luz is in her comfort zone, so if you randomly wake her up and surprise her, who knows what’ll happen,” Eda warned, her face and eyes showing concern. King's eyes softened as they shifted from Eda to Luz. “But we’re best friends. She wouldn’t attack me. Would she?” King's voice trailed off. Eda gave the demon a soft smile. “Hey, I’m sure she wouldn’t, but we’ve never dealt with a werewolf before, and chances are best not being taken until we figure everything out.” The woman whispered.

King stared up at the woman with sad eyes, before shifting them to stare at Luz. A soft smile was on her face, tail gently wagging as she hugged the pillow closer. “Fine, but when everything is situated, I want my cuddle buddy back!” He demanded. Eda tried her best not to laugh at the demon’s declaration. “Trust me, King, I’m sure she misses the two of you cuddling just as much.” The woman reassured him, gently patting his skull. The demon sat off to the side now, burying himself under some blankets as he changed his attitude to now complain about the cold. Eda smirked, gently shaking her head at the demon’s complaints before reaching out to softly shake Luz. “Come on kid, time to wake up. I need help decorating and we can make some treats to hang out to the kids.” The woman offered her student.

After a few more shakes, Luz finally opened her eyes. She yawned rather loudly, sharp canines glinting in the sunlight. “It’s cold. I don’t want to get up yet.” Luz whined, trying her best to burry herself further into the blankets. Eda rolled her eyes at this, a chuckle escaping her. “Come on. There’s spidercider inside calling your name, ready to warm you up. Plus, you still need a costume for tonight.” Her mentor insisted, draping herself over her student dramatically. Luz giggled lowly as her mentor rested across her side, certainly not a comfortable position for the older woman. Luz bit the inside of her cheek as Eda gently poked at her with a bony finger. “I know that you love to decorate. Plus, I got some apples we can candy.” Eda began to list off. Finally, Luz sat up. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were tired, but a gentle smile remained. “Fine, you win.” She groaned tiredly. “You bet I do!” The older woman laughed, grabbing the teenager and pulling her out of the blanket pile.

“And bring the blankets, they need to be washed,” Eda claimed preparing to crawl out of the tent. Luz’s ears twitched in distaste at the idea, causing her to stop. “Can’t they stay in here a little longer?” She asked, gently running her hands over the pieces of fabrics. Eda sighed. “Listen, I know they probably smell like your friend and all, but not only that it’s getting colder and you can’t sleep out here every night.” Eda gently scolded, playfully flicking her apprentice’s forehead. Luz pouted, rubbing the spot she had been flicked as her cheeks burned a bright red. She silently gathered the blankets, much to Eda’s amusement. Luz ended up swaddling a now sleeping King and gently kissed his forehead as he napped. Eda helped the young teen, bringing everything out and heading back towards the house.

Lilith was quick to stand, rushing to open the door for her sister and the young human girl. Eda proceeded inside, Luz on her heels. The girl watched with soft eyes as King napped, taking him along with the blanket he was wrapped in and placing him on the couch. She continued with the rest and followed Eda down the hall. Brown eyes scanned the various detergents that Eda kept, finally deciding on one and pouring a cupful onto the first batch. It appeared that there would be at least two maybe three loads of blankets to wash. Luz sighed, closing the lid to an old washer she and Eda had found about a year ago in a trash slug. She shuddered at the memory, remembering the deep cleaning they had to do with it.

The sounds of footsteps approaching caused Luz to turn her head slightly. Eda peeked her head in, a large smile on her face as she fully came into view, a pile of clothes resting in her arms. More specifically, costumes. “So, I was digging through some old stuff and found some costumes that might fit you.” She claimed. Luz’s eyes began to sparkle at the idea of dressing up. Sure, she was sixteen, but her age wasn’t going to stop her from having fun! With a large smile, she walked out of the empty closet they had turned into a laundry room and followed the older woman into the living room. When she entered, she took notice of Lilith sitting on the couch, for once not holding a book. She looked excited about the possible costume fashion show that was about to go down. Eda placed the costumes on the opposite end of the couch, Luz’s tail wagging excitedly as she came up to browse through them.

“Alright! Let’s see what we got here!” Eda stated excitedly with a clap of her hands, a sound that woke King up with a tired “Weh?” coming from him. Lilith sifted through the pile, pulling out outfits she felt would be suitable as did Eda.

What a long morning this was going to be.

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“I think this one would look quite flattering on you,” Odalia commented, picking out one of the many dresses lined up along the wall of Amity’s room. Amity could not breathe. The creature behind her tightening the corset of one of the dresses it was requested to bring. “It does look-” She inhaled sharply, gasping for a little bit of air “-Lovely mother.” She commented, eyeing her mother from the mirror she stood in front of. The orange dress reached to her knees, so bright that it would no doubt make her stand out. It was a nice design with the long black sleeves; however, she could see the distaste in her mother’s eyes as she stared at it. “I believe she should try on this one next,” Her mother stated, eyeing the red dress she had just grabbed. Knowing the drill, having worked for the Blights for years, the creature was quick to unlace the corset it had just finished with.

Amity gasped for air, finally feeling as if she could breathe, and stepped out of the dress which the creature quickly tossed to the side. It was nearly lunch and Amity had been up since the break of dawn trying on different dresses. She had insisted earlier that week that she could visit one of the local boutiques for the party her family was having that evening, but her mother waved off the request, stating she wished to be with her. Speaking of her mother, the woman came up behind her, pressing the red fabric against her front. Odalia sucked her teeth in distaste. “It doesn’t go well with your hair. So, never mind.” She sighed, tossing the fabric into the waiting arms of the designer. Odalia stared at her daughter in the mirror, examining her.

Her own golden eyes examined Amity’s face, looking for any hint of distaste that her daughter felt she should show. Instead, she was met with the bored and unreadable expression of her younger child. She needed to smile more, Amity looked rather distasteful to look at when she frowned, she’d speak with her about that later. Her eyes then wandered up to her daughter's exposed roots, remembering she had sent her out the day before for a touch-up. A smile appeared on her face, her fingers making their way into Amity’s hair, pushing the loose strands that had fallen into her face back. “All of the dresses clash with such a beautiful shade of green.” She sighed, hugging her daughter close.

Amity felt uncomfortable. Her mother's tight embrace causing a chill to shoot down her spine.

She hated her mother’s hugs.

Odalia finally released the girl, now placing her hands-on Amity’s shoulders as she stared at her. The designer kept themselves busy, feeling the sparks of tension between the two. The older woman’s eyes shifted towards the other dresses, scowling at the different colors and designs that did not suit her taste. Her eyes then darted back to the long black slip that Amity wore. Humming lowly, she made her way to the wall, grabbing one of the few black dresses that were brought. “I guess this should do. The purples are too bright, blue is such a horrific color on you and red just makes you look even paler.” Odalia sighed, pressing one of the dresses against her daughter again. “At least we know you look decent in this color. Besides, the fit makes you look more mature. Put it on.” The woman commanded, tossing the dress into the arms of the designer.

It was quick to make its way back to Amity, the girl stepping into the dress as soon as it was placed before her. She was tired, and just wanted this over with.

The head Blight watched carefully as the creature zipped up the dress and tied the ribbon in the back. Amity had to admit, the dress was better than the rest she had tried on throughout the morning. It fit rather nicely, and the front stopped at her knees as the back flowed out towards her ankles. “Now, that’s much better,” Odalia commented happily, making her way to her daughter once more and circling her. “Amity loves it, don’t you Amity?” The woman stared down at her daughter as she stopped by her side. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.” Amity responded, her eyes remaining on her own reflection. Odalia hummed lowly in amusement, leading the creature away so it could gather the dresses it had brought.

It drew a circle and Amity watched in the mirror as all the dresses began to pack themselves up. Odalia led the creature out of the room to discuss payment, finally leaving Amity alone in the dress she was to wear that evening. The young girl made her way to her vanity, tiredly sitting down. Her mother would send someone else soon to do her hair and makeup, not trusting Amity to meet her standards for the evening. For now, she would sit and breathe, giving herself the chance to rest for hopefully a few hours. A rather sharp knock caught her ears.

Or just a few seconds it seemed.

Amity tried not to show her distaste as her usual stylist made his way into her room, his flamboyant personality already causing her eye to twitch. She didn’t dislike the man, no, far from it. It was just that it was too early, and she was too irritated to deal with him. However, she held her tongue as the man began pulling out different brushes and containers of makeup.

By the time he was finished, lunch had just passed, and Amity felt exhausted. Her hair had been curled and makeup applied to make her stand out more. She couldn’t contain the cough that worked its way up her throat as the man sprayed a rather expensive perfume her mother had requested on her. Once he was done, he said his farewells and was quick to go deal with other clients who had hired him for the evening. Maybe if she were lucky, she could sneak down to the kitchen and grab a quick bite to eat. Titan, she sounded like one of her siblings planning to sneak around. Standing up, Amity was quick to slip on a pair of tights as well as a pair of heels that deemed good enough to pair with the dress. As much as she preferred to walk around without the heels yet, she also didn’t care to get scolded by a maid who would tell her it was improper of a lady.

Once she felt presentable, Amity slipped from her room, trying her best to remain silent as she crept down the staircase. Her heels, sadly, echoed against the polished floors, signaling anyone nearby that one of the Blight women were coming their way. Her mother saw fit that the maids of the manor wore flat shoes, thus when they walked, they could not be heard. Growing up, Amity remembered the tensed stances the newer women would take as they heard the loud heels of Odalia clicking against the floor. “Only those who hold importance should be heard.” Are the words her mother told her after she had fired a maid for wearing lace-up boots that had a small heel. The woman had tried explaining herself that her shoes had gotten holes at the bottom due to age and had no time to go get a new pair but knowing Odalia she would not hear of it. Especially not when they had guests over and the clacks of the woman’s heels interrupted the importance of whatever Odalia had been telling her friends.

The sharp glare the woman had received from the head Blight, as well as the silent room, had caused a young Amity to tense. All the children that sat around the small tea table including the other adults in the room could not help but stare at the maid. The woman kept her head down, continuing to prepare for that evening’s tea, before dismissing herself with a nervous quiet voice. Amity could see the clear irritation in her mother’s eyes from across the room and soon listened as the other adults began making comments themselves. She had never seen that maid again after her mother spoke with her that night.

Amity slipped into the dining room, giving a sigh of relief as it was empty. No doubt about it that the staff of Blight manor was in the ballroom, preparing it for the evening party. Slowly, Amity made her way over to the door which led to the kitchen and gently pressed against the door to peer inside. What she saw took her by surprise, though she was quick to compose herself. “Good afternoon father.” She greeted Alador. The man held a piece of toast with jam smeared on it, and another rested on a plate in front of him. Amity’s stomach growled a reminder that she had missed lunch. “Good afternoon Amity.” He replied rather bored. Amity took a moment to inspect her father. He was dressed in a new suite, no doubt it had been an order by her mother that he get one, which probably meant he had missed lunch as well. The man slid the plate towards Amity, before going back to his own meal.

Hesitantly, Amity reached out and grabbed the food her father had offered her and took a careful bite. “Don’t get it on your dress, your mother will have a fit.” Her father warned, suddenly causing her to feel self-conscious. Just like that, she had lost her appetite, now concerned about dirtying the outfit. She should not have left her room till that evening; she could have waited to eat then. Her stomach once again growled, warning her that she would have felt sick if she had not eaten now, thus she took another careful bite. “Are you ready for this evening?” He asked, taking in his daughters’ appearance to see if anything was out of place. Nothing was. She would never allow Odalia to catch her looking out of place. Titan how she hated her mother’s lectures when she did.

Amity’s throat tightened as she grew nervous. “Yes, but I actually have a request.” Amity began, having a hard time meeting her father’s eyes. The man stared at her skeptically, eyes narrowed as he watched every movement she made. Finally, she made eye contact, hands behind her back so she would not nervously grab at the front of her dress. “This evening I would like to go out into town. Braxus and the other children are part of a play in the town square talking about the history of the Boiling Isles. If students attend, we can use it as extra credit for supporting the local children of the community and indulging ourselves in learning about the Isles history.” Amity stated, finally delivering the explanation she had been rehearsing in her mind since the beginning of the week.

The young girl tried her best not to fidget, knowing her father would then question as to why she appeared to be so nervous. The man simply turned his back to his daughter, grabbing a teacup that he had kept beside himself, something Amity had just noticed. He took a rather long sip, causing Amity’s anxiety to grow as she waited for his reply. “Does your mother know?” He asked, causing Amity’s heart to stop for a moment. Her mother didn’t know, and she really didn’t want to tell her mother. If her mother knew she would most likely agree, however, Boscha and Skara would have to go with her. The thought of spending time with them made the witch internally cringe. Skara, she could handle. Boscha, however, made her want to jump off the roof of the manor. “No father,” Amity admitted, keeping eye contact with the man.

His golden eyes remained locked on his daughter as he thought the proposal over. Amity could feel the sweat beading at the back of her neck as she waited for his reply. “I see no problem with it, especially if it’ll provide as extra credit towards your studies. What time will you be leaving?” He asked, finishing his tea and walking over to place the cup in the sink to be cleaned by one of the staff. “Around six. The play begins around seven and I’m sure there’s a chance they would like for me to walk around with them for a while as they spirit hunt.” Amity tried pushing her luck just a bit. Maybe if her father were feeling generous, he would let her stay out just a bit later. Alador tapped his fingers along the edge of the sink. “Be back before midnight. Your mother would want you here for the freedom of the spirits.” He commented, once again glancing at his daughter.

The girl tried her best to keep a neutral face, thanking her father, and stating she would see him that evening. She placed the toast back on the plate, her appetite now disappeared in replace of joy and butterflies. Her father watched as she left the kitchen, slipping from the doors she had entered through earlier. “Excuse me Mr. Blight, but your wife wishes to speak with you in the ballroom.” An older gentleman walked into the kitchen through a side door and stated his business. Alador sighed, pushing a few strands of his hair back tiredly before following the man out of the kitchen. Meanwhile, Amity waited till she got to her room, closing her door to squeal in excitement. Summoning her scroll, she sent a message to Willow, informing her that she would be free later that evening and where it would be best to meet.

Willow was currently adjusting the small burlap witches’ hat on her head, shifting her head to examine herself in the mirror. When she felt it looked proper, she created a few flowers to stick onto it. Her scroll rang, signaling that she had just received a message. The noise caused the young witch to jump slightly, one of the flowers slipping onto the ground. She pouted for a moment, before summoning her scroll. Her eyes widened slightly, a smile breaking out onto her face as she read Amity’s message. She had confirmed the location, informing her that she was planning to meet up with Luz and Gus first before heading to the children’s show.

____________________________________________________________________________

When evening rolled around, Amity had found herself at a table with Boscha and Skara, the first remaining on her scroll and the latter happily looked between her ‘friends’. “This is nice, we haven’t gotten together like this in a while!” Skara commented, excitement laced in her voice. Boscha looked up from her scroll, eyes meeting with Amity’s from across the table. “Whatever.” She sneered, rolling her eyes as she continued to tap away at her scroll. Skara quickly shifted her attention to Amity, catching the green-haired witch by a bit of surprise. Skara’s gray eyes sparkled with excitement. “It’s been so long since we’ve talked last! Oh, I’m so excited to catch up!” She claimed, barely able to sit still in her seat.

Amity felt her face heat up in embarrassment, the attention from Skara a bit overwhelming. “Yeah, that sounds so fun, however, I’ll be having to leave soon,” Amity stated, giving the girl the best fake sad smile, she could muster. Skara’s eyes quickly saddened as did her expression. “Oh.” Was all she managed to say, falling back into her chair. The green-haired witch felt guilt nip at her. Sure, Skara took part of the bullying when they were a group, but she was never as bad as Boscha. She got along with just about all the students of Hexside and didn’t look down on them due to their status. “Hey, uh, Skara, maybe sometime next week we could meet for tea after school?” Amity suggested, a weak smile appearing on her face.

The girl perked up slightly, her attention shifting back over to Amity. “That sounds really nice.” She agreed. Sure, Amity enjoyed her new friends, but she didn’t see why she couldn’t at least try and start an actual friendship with a person who seemed to have missed her. It was simply a step forward towards something for them. A possible friendship maybe? “I can’t believe you want to hang out with the human lover,” Boscha stated with venom in her voice. Both the witches across from her turned their attention towards her. “Seriously Boscha? Three eyes and that’s the only insult you could find?” Amity asked with a raised brow. Boscha glared, scroll disappearing as she leaned across the table.

“I may not be able to say anything because of our parents, but just wait.” She growled; her three eyes narrowed. “Please, proceed to do something. I’d honestly like to see you try, mostly because school has been rather boring without Luz and I’d enjoy watching your fail for my entertainment.” Amity stated, eyes narrowing at Boscha as well. Skara sunk into her seat, the tension clearly building between the girls. She shifted, stormy eyes darting back between Boscha and Amity, both looking as if they could cast a spell on each other at any moment. However, they both jumped back as the girl in the center slammed her hand on the table rather harshly, causing both the girls to look at her. Her eyes were sparkling once more as an idea popped into her mind. “Let’s go to the attic!” She requested, a plan forming in her mind.

Boscha raised a brow, already becoming annoyed with the girl for the evening. “Excuse me, but why would I want to go up into Amity’s family’s nasty old attic?” She asked, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. Amity bit the inside of her cheek, preventing herself from saying anything that could be considered an offense, especially with so many guests around. “Come on, we used to sneak up there all the time on Spirits Day and tell ghost stories! Let’s do that again!” Skara begged, eyes sparkling with hope. Amity shifted in her seat, eyes shifting to stare at the large clock on the wall across the dance floor. She had a little time to kill before she had to leave. She sharply inhaled “Fine, but I can’t stay long.” Amity stated, standing up and pushing her seat back in. Skara squealed excitedly, receiving a sharp glare from Boscha. “Are you serious? You want me to go into an old nasty attic? Do you not understand how expensive this dress is?!” Boscha snapped, though her whining fell on deaf ears.

Or, well, at least the ears of two witches that could care less about what she was saying.

With a growl of irritation, Boscha shot up, chasing after the two girls who had just exited the ballroom to head upstairs. “Don’t you walk away from me! I am yelling at you! Listen to me!” She demanded, hot on their tails. The three girls stopped at a large door at the end of one of the many halls. The old wood blended in with the rest of the doors of the home and could easily be mistaken for a bedroom or maybe an office with the normality of its appearance. However, the three girls knew what rested behind it. Amity twisted the doorknob and pushed open the old door. It let out a loud creak and the dark staircase leading upwards towards the next floor gave a menacing vibe. The girls remained quiet as they peered upwards, the only light currently was the moon that shown into the large window of the attic.

“I can basically hear the bugs crawling around up there,” Boscha commented with a smirk. Amity tried her best not to hit the girl, instead opting to move forward. Skara shot a look towards Boscha, who simply ignored her, and continued to follow Amity. The girls stood awkwardly in the room, eyeing different boxes that had been moved up there for different reasons. It felt as anticlimactic as that one time they held the moonlight conjuring nearly three years ago. Skara glanced, being the first to move towards the large window that allowed the moon to shine into the attic, and took a seat. The two witches stared at her with raised brows, meanwhile, the other witch simply dusted off spots where they could sit. “See! No dust! Your dress won’t get ruined Boscha!” Skara stated excitedly.

The pink-haired witch rolled her eyes, finally walking over to the Bard witch, sitting across from her. They glanced up at an unsure Amity. “Well don’t be shy now. You’re the one that wanted to indulge her.” Boscha sneered, leaning back to rest against her palms. Sighing, Amity took a seat as Skara excitedly rubbed her hands together. “Okay, so I heard this one recently from Cat!” Skara began, barely able to contain her excitement.

For Amity, this was already appearing to be a long night.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Alright, bring the tray over,” Eda instructed Luz, as she was currently stirring the sticky liquid in the pot. “Wait, Edalyn! I just need to do one more!” Lilith claimed with a wide smile as she stuck the last stick into the apple. Luz carried the tray over once Lilith was finished, tail wagging excitedly as she placed it beside Eda. Taking one of the sticks, Eda dipped the apple into the golden sweet liquid. Once she pulled it out, it looked just like a regular caramel apple, however, the color was more golden, and Eda had called it by a different name. “Hey Eda, what did you say these were called again?” Luz asked, staring excitedly at the apple as Eda handed it off to her. “Oh, scaramel apples.” The older witch said while picking up another stick. “Why do you call them th-?”

“Ahhhh!” The gooey liquid on the apple formed a mouth with sharp teeth, screaming at Luz.

The girl screamed, falling back in surprise. She held her chest, staring in fear at the apple that’s mouth disappeared. Eda snorted as she watched a horrified Luz stare at the now seemingly normal apple. Lilith had to cover her own mouth, to prevent from laughing at the sight. Meanwhile, King ran up to the girl on the floor. She had honestly expected him to check up on her until he took the apple from her hand. “I call dibs on the first one!” King announced, biting into the scaramel apple. Luz watched in amazement as the demon ate the apple in just a few bites. “Ah! Nothing beats a scaramel apple! Give me another one Eda!” King whined, jumping up and down beside the old witch. “No way, too much sugar in you and you’ll never sleep tonight.” Eda scolded, walking over to her sister with the new scaramel apple and handing it to her.

“Come on Luz, try one.” Eda insisted, grabbing yet another apple to dip into the liquid. Luz blinked, still trying to get over the shock. “I uh, I think I’ll pass until this evening. I should possibly get ready before Willow and Gus arrive.” Luz insisted, standing up to dust herself off. “Yeah, good idea, don’t want those two thinking you’re only partially dressed.” Her mentor snickered as she gently poked at Luz’s pointed ear. The girl yelped, covering them with her hands. “Eda!” She whined, feeling embarrassed. Eda chuckled, ruffling the girl’s hair. “Sorry kid, but seriously, go get dressed.” She instructed, going back to dipping the scaramel apples. Excitedly, Luz made her way upstairs.

It had been hard for them to figure out a costume, thus Luz had basically decided to go as herself, though with a few adjustments. “I really thought she looked adorable in the knight’s outfit,” Lilith commented, taking another careful bite of her apple. “Yeah, but she said it made her feel sweaty. Besides, I was in favor of the cute little bumblebee costume.” The white-haired witch chuckled at the memory of the oversized bumblebee costume. “Well, at least she figured something else out.” The elder witch sighed, remembering the way Luz’s eyes sparkled as she found a random red flannel in the costume pile that must have gotten mixed in by accident. They had watched as the girl tore at the sleeves and a few areas of the top with her rather sharp nails. She had made the decision to pair the now shredded item with some black jeans she had brought from her last visit home and her normal shoes, and a tank top to wear underneath the shirt.

They had no clue what she was planning until she announced she could easily dress up as herself for the evening. They remained in the dark until Luz clearly stated she would dress up as a werewolf. That was when the women’s eyes widened a long “Oh.” Coming from them both. Now they waited downstairs, only a few minutes before Luz came rushing down, nearly tripping over her feet. “Roar!” She growled, jumping from the step’s teeth bared and claws extended. The women gave an awkward laugh. “What, was it bad?” Luz asked a bit confused about their reaction. The sisters shared a look before Eda cleared her throat. “Uh, no it was good, just um, probably don’t do that around people.” Eda requested, leaning against the counter as she took a bite of a scaramel apple. “Why?” Luz asked before gasping “Are there werewolves on the Isles? Oh, shoot you’re right! I don’t need to offend them!” The girl scolded herself for not thinking properly.

“Ummm, yes! That’s why! Don’t want to get in a fight now do yah? Werewolves are quite competitive you know.” Eda winked at her student and smirked. Luz hummed lowly, making a mental note of the information she was given. She was about to ask another question on what to avoid when going out that evening until her ears perked up. “Willow and Gus are here!” She announced, quickly turning to run towards the door. The sisters followed her, Lilith watching curiously and Eda continuing to eat. “I haven’t heard them knock.” Her mentor commented to her sister. “I can hear them coming up the road! I can smell Willows flowery scent and-” Luz sniffed the air, and gave a confused look “-And Gus smells like weird cologne?” The girl finished.

Just a few seconds later, Luz swung the door open just as Willow was preparing to knock “Guys!” She called out excitedly, pulling Willow and Gus into a surprisingly tight hug. “Luz!” They both replied, wrapping their arms around her as well. Once she pulled away, she took in their appearances. Willow was dressed in what appeared to be nature like witch attire, with a burlap witches hat and soft brown dress with flowers around her waist. Gus was, Luz narrowed her eyes just a bit, a human? “He’s gone as a human every year since we’ve met.” Willow chuckled as she took in Gus’s sweater and slacks. No doubt from his own closet, but what caught Luz’s attention was the illusion he had cast on his ears to make them appear round. Her own ears twitched, feeling a bit sensitive to the sight. “That’s so cool!” Gus stated, pointing towards Luz who jumped in a bit of surprise.

“Did Eda enchant your ears to look like that?!” He asked excitedly, trying to get a closer look at Luz’s pointy ears. Willows's eyes widened slightly, just now noticing. “Wow, they seem so realistic. Eda, you must really be getting better at illusion magic.” Willow giggled as she gently grasped Luz’s face, turning it so she could stare at her ears. “They look so, realistic!” She complimented with a look of amazement. Luz gave an awkward chuckle. “Yeah, Eda is definitely getting better at creating more realistic illusions.” She complimented her mentor, even turning her head to shoot her a bright smile. “So, I’m guessing Amity will be meeting us here?” Luz asked, glancing past her friends just a bit to see if the green-haired witch was hiding behind them.

Willow snapped her fingers. “Shoot! I knew I was forgetting to tell you something! We’re meeting Amity at the town square theater. She’s watching some of the children she reads to participate in a play.” The witch gave her friends the rundown of what she had been told. Luz nodded along. “Alright, that’s fine. Do we know what she’s dressed as?” Luz asked excitedly, now rocking back and forth on her heels as she tried imaging what Amity would dress as. “Hmm, probably nothing. Since her parents were holding a ball tonight, she’s probably wearing the dress she wore there.” Willow stated, thinking it over. Luz pouted. “Aw, but she’d look so cute dressed up.” She whined, which earned her a strange look from her friends. Luz blushed “I mean, you all look cute and she’d look just as cute as you two do!” She tried to cover up her slip up.

Gus huffed “I am not cute! I am a man! I even used a human males cologne I found!” He announced, reaching into his pocket to pull out a half-empty can of old spice. “Huh, so that’s what I was smelling.” Luz thought to herself in amusement. The young girl thought for a moment, perking up once she got an idea. “I’ll be right back!” She announced, turning to run upstairs and grab something. That’s when the two young witches raised a brow each at the sight of Luz’s tail. “I’m guessing she’s supposed to be a werewolf?” Gus asked, turning towards Eda and Lilith who tensed. “Yep! The idea was all hers!” Eda stated hands on her hips. “Did you tell her about the uh, history of witches and werewolves? Better yet the history of witches and other species?” Willow asked with concern laced in her voice.

The two older women exchanged a look of worry. “Well, no, but we’ve given her a few do’s and don’ts. I am sure you two will watch over her, correct? You know how she can get into trouble sometimes.” Lilith asked, a hint of concern laced in her voice. Gus and Willow exchanged a look before giving both the older women a confident smile. “We promise! But since Luz will be here for a while it will probably be best to tell her a bit more about the history of witches. Or at least tell her to sign up for History 101 at Hexside.” Willow suggested. The two women quickly nodded, giving the witch a false agreement. Not long after, Luz rushed back down the staircase, a red cloak in hand. “What’s that for?” Gus asked, examining it further once Luz walked back over.

“Well, since Amity can’t really dress up, I thought we could kinda, I don’t know, match?” Luz voice trailed off as she tried to explain herself. “It’s based off a human story, I’ll tell you later, promise.” The human girl promised. Her two friends shared a look before shrugging. “Well, the play will be starting soon so we should probably head on over there. We’ll keep an eye on Luz.” Willow announced, gently grabbing Gus’s shoulder, and Luz’s hand to lead them out. Luz excitedly waved goodbye to her mentor before Hooty slammed the door closed.

Both Lilith and Eda stared at the closed door. “Do you think she’ll be alright?” Eda asked her older sibling, needing just a hint of reassurance. Lilith reached over, pulling her sister into a hug “She’ll be fine Edalyn. Now, let's finish with those scaramel apples and get ready for the children that’ll be coming by.” Lilith insisted, leading her younger sibling back to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Luz and her friends quickly walked away as Hooty began to pester them.

“And as she slowly turned towards the mirror, she realized…That her eyes were missing!” Skara yelled out that last part, hoping it would scare the two girls. However, Amity picked at a random spot of the splintered wood floor, and Boscha stared at the girl bored. “So, like, how did she see herself if she didn’t have eyes?” Boscha asked, clearly uninterested in the story her friend had just told. Skara blinked as she processed the question. “Well uh, um, she uh-” She began, tripping over her words as she tried to explain herself. Amity, however, summoned her scroll to check the time. Her eyes widened and she quickly shot up. “I have to go.” She announced, dusting her dress off in case anything had gotten on it. “Huh? Where are you going?” Skara asked, sadness clear in her voice. “I just have an appointment somewhere else okay. I promise I’ll message you next week.” Amity stated as she walked away from the group and back towards the stairs.

Boscha snickered. “Just leave her be Skara, she’s probably gonna go kiss the human or something. Get some type of weird human disease at some point.” She commented, summoning her own scroll to look through. Amity’s grip tightened on the railing at the comment as she continued her descent. Skara watched with sad eyes, before glancing back at Boscha. With a sharp breath, she turned on her heels and started following the green haired girl. “Uh, where do you think you’re going?” Boscha called after her, now standing up. “I want to see where she’s going.” She shot back, chasing after the green-haired witch. Her heels echoed in the Blights large hallway, but she could see Amity descending that stairs from where she was.

She tried to pick up her speed, the sound of Boscha behind her giving her the odd urge to move even faster. She stopped at the top of the staircase, just in time to see the front door closing. If Amity wasn’t attending the party, where was she going? Skara hurried down the steps, Boscha right behind her, and rushed to the front door. She swung it open, stepping out into the cold night air and glancing around. Amity was nowhere to be seen. Skara tensed as she felt a hand on her shoulder, Boscha forcefully turning her around with anger clear on her face. “What in Titans name has gotten into you! Why are you chasing after her, she doesn’t want to hang out!” Boscha barked, still breathing heavy from how fast she had just run to catch up. “Well, I mean, I just thought she felt uncomfortable! I wanted to make sure she was okay!” Skara tried to explain herself. This seemed to only irritate Boscha more, watching as her friend tried to defend the Blight girls’ actions.

“She doesn’t like you Skara! She doesn’t like me either! Better yet, she hates us! Amity literally chose a human over years of friendship with us and you want to still see if there’s something worth fixing?! Just how stupid are you?!” She sneered, her grip tightening on her friend’s shoulders. Skara’s bottom lip trembled, eyes starting to water as she stared at two of her friend's three eyes. She sniffled, tears forcing to overflow from her stormy eyes that fit well with her current emotion. Boscha raised a brow. “Seriously? You are seriously crying about this? That’s so pathetic.” The pink-haired girl sneered, hands shifting from Skara’s shoulders to grab at her hand instead. “Come on and dry your eyes. I don’t want people looking at us weird when we re-enter the party.” Boscha demanded, dragging the sobbing girl back inside Blight manor.

Meanwhile, Amity was currently trying her best to run in heels towards Bonesborough. She had been able to run from Otabin before in her boots, due to how short the heels were. However, in these, she felt like she could trip and break her ankle at any moment. In fact, she had to lean into a few trees whenever she felt like she was about to lose her balance. By the time she reached the town's center, most of the seats were taken up, thus she settled for one in the very back. She tried her best to catch her breath. Watching as some of the younger children in the Bard track began to play their instruments that were beginning to learn. “Hey, could you stop breathing so loud?! I can hardly hear the kids!” A woman turned around and snapped at Amity, who simply glared at the back of her head once she turned back around.

The young witch rested, checking her scroll. She had a few minutes to spare. Thus, she got comfortable and watched as the curtains opened. “Ladies and Gentlemen! We welcome you to tonight’s production!” A child with snot dripping from his nose announced, dressed in an old settler’s outfit. Once he finished his line, Amity watched as several of the children she read to walked out on stage. “Welcome to the Terrifying History of the Boiling Isles!” They all spoke in unison. Amity joined in on the clapping, watching with proud and excited eyes. “During these tales, we shall discuss the tragic history of the witches and all that we had to face as we discovered our magic!” The boy continued. “From the battle with Nymphs for plants and herbs in the forest to help with potions!” He spoke, two little girls stepped out of line.

One was dressed in a settler’s outfit as the other wore a fairy-like attire, a flower crown resting on her head. They stepped back from each other, pretending to cast spells with glitter and confetti. “To the vampires and ghouls, who hunted us down at night so we could not draw power from the moon!” He started his next line, stepping off to the side as a little boy dressed as a vampire and another once again remain in a settler’s outfit, posed as if they were about to do battle. “You shall not harvest the power of the moon! The moon belongs to the creatures of the night!” The little boy cried, swooping his small cape dramatically across his face. This received a few laughs from the audience, though Principal Bump shook his head in irritation as the child improvised his lines. “And for our last tale! The story of the battle with the werewolves! How they ripped our people limb from limb! Preventing us from doing research and learning more about the magic of the land!” The boy cried out dramatically. 

“Oh no,” Amity whispered under her breath.

Meanwhile, the crowd’s eyes widened in amazement. Excited parents and onlookers quickly began clapping their hands as the play began.

“So, what’s Spirits Day all about anyway? Oh, do you dress up for candy and fun spooky games?!” Luz asked excitedly as she and friends walked into town. Willow placed a finger on her chin, thinking. “No, not really. Spirits Day is in memory of all the wars that witches had with other species so they could practice magic. A lot of the species including the lives of witches that were lost in battle did not get to ascend due to the Titan's soul becoming furious and cursing the grounds they fought on. Thus, their souls are trapped until released.” Willow explained. Luz listened with much interest. “So, do some get freed on this day or?” Luz asked with a raised brow. “Actually, we don’t know all the locations of the wars. So, if you find a spirits resting place it grants them freedom and safety, which means they can pass over when the clock strikes midnight. Though a lot of people dress up and hand stuff out for the kids.” Gus continued with the explanation.

Luz blinked, letting all the information sink in. The witches had been at war with other species? But everyone seemed to get along here? Her eyes began to scan the crowd of people that walked by them. How many of these species had been at each other’s throats hundreds of years ago, who was now laughing and acting as friends? The thought made her feel a bit uneasy. “Stop foul beast! We need these herbs to save our village!” A young squeaky voice cracked as it called out. The group followed the sound, coming to the edge of the square, where many people had gathered to watch the performance. “Stinky witch! These herbs belong to the nymphs! You shall not! Um, shall not!” The little girl in the fairy gown began to stumble over her line. “You shall not have them for your wicked ways.” Her teachers whispered to her.

The little girl blinked. “What Mrs. Spiderwits said!” The little girl cried out, earning a few laughs from the audience. “I wonder where Amity is,” Gus mumbled, searching around the dark plaza for the green-haired girl. “She’s probably somewhere in the audience,” Willow suggested, narrowing her eyes as she scanned over the many heads. Meanwhile, Luz inhaled sharply, eyes widening as she barely caught a scent. Her eyes quickly darted towards the edge of the crowd. A faint pink blurry lined seemed to appear before her eyes, though it was hardly noticeable. However, the scent seemed to be coming from that direction thus she followed it. “I think we should try that end and make our way down.” The young plant witch suggested, pointing to the opposite end of the plaza. “What do you think Luz?” She asked, turning to glance at her friend who was no longer there.

Luz’s grip on the cloak tightened, her heart was beating fast to the point she could hear it. Her eyes refused to leave the faint trail, ignoring the complaints of people she pushed past, her nose twitching as she anxiously sniffed. Finally, she stopped as her nose pressed against the neck of a tense body, the trail automatically disappearing. Her eyes shifted upwards, catching a glimpse of the green hair and fearful expression of the person she was pressed against. Her eyes widened, pulling away from Amity. This gave the witch room to quickly shoot around, ready to summon an abomination to attack whoever had just snuck up on her. Her golden eyes widened as they stared up at Luz.

The taller girl had a pout and her eyes sparkled in the light that the stage gave off. Amity felt like she was falling in love all over again. “Luz?” She whispered, curious about her friend’s expression. That’s when her eyes widened, coming to a quick realization. Had she been here the whole time? Did she hear the terrible things the child had said about werewolves? She felt sick to her stomach. Luz wasn’t supposed to know about this. She could not know about it. It would make her insecure and she would purposefully keep her distance from everybody, possibly even leave. Amity was snapped out of her thoughts as Luz dropped to her knee’s. Quickly, Amity turned around in her seat, earning a few concerned glances from the people around her. “Luz, I’m so sorry,” Amity whispered, tears brimming at the edge of her eyes and threatening to ruin her make up. Quickly she reached down cupping Luz’s face in her hands. “Just. Please be honest with me okay.” Luz asked, leaning into Amity’s touch.

This hurt. Why did she have to be the one to explain this situation? Why did she have to break Luz’s heart? It wasn’t fair. Luz didn’t deserve to hear such horrible things about the creature she was becoming! She didn’t-!

“Why do you stink?” Luz asked.

Amity blinked. “Excuse me?” Was all she could bring herself to respond with. Luz pressed her nose against Amity’s hand, earning her a few weird looks from the people around her. “You smell. It kind of smells like the perfume Eda wears when she goes on dates. She said if it smells gross then it’s expensive. I’m guessing you had to wear it tonight for the party?” Luz asked, staring up at the girl before her with curious eyes. Amity couldn’t tell if her face was burning red with embarrassment or anger. Most likely both. “I do not stink!” Amity snapped back, pulling her hand from Luz. She clutched it close to her chest and was so tempted to turn away to hide her face. “Yeah, you do. You don’t smell like Amity.” Luz shot back, clearly, a bit offended that Amity didn’t believe her.

“I smell fine!” Amity growled, clearly growing more embarrassed as people turned to stare at them. “Hey, keep it down! I’m trying to watch this kid slay a vampire!” A man snapped beside them. Amity just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Honestly, she was regretting coming out now. “Nope. You normally smell like vanilla and books.” Luz stated rather bluntly. With a huff, Amity stood, stepping over the bench and grabbing onto Luz, dragging the girl away from the crowd. Her heels clacked against the ground harshly as she walked. Luz continued being dragged and was soon pressed against a wall. It was a street that was mostly empty except for a few stalls down the road. Luckily, they wouldn’t be heard. “What is your deal?!” Amity snapped, clearly upset at the words Luz had spoken to her.

Quickly, the girl held her hands up in defense, the cloak now draped over her arm. “I’m sorry! It’s just I saw this trail and followed it and I didn’t recognize it was you because it didn’t smell like you! It smelt like gross perfume!” Luz defended. Amity’s eye twitched at this statement, “I’ll have you know; this is some of the most top-quality perfume!” She claimed, with a huff. She was about to go on a rant until she felt something drape over her shoulders. Curiously, she looked at what had been placed around her. A dark red cloak, which Luz was currently busy trying to tie. However, her sharp nails were making it difficult. Sighing, Amity gently pushed Luz’s hands away, tying it herself. “You want to explain to me what this is about?” Amity asked, grasping the edge of the hood and holding it out like a pair of wings.

Luz’s eyes sparkled in excitement. “You’re my little red riding hood!” She stated, instantly wrapping her arms around her friend and bringing her into a tight hug. “I’m who now?” Amity asked, face turning red with embarrassment. “It’s a story from earth. I’ll tell you about it later.” Luz promised once again. Amity just stared up at Luz, annoyed expression softening to one of amusement. “Of course, it is.” She sighed. Luz smiled, happy that her friend seemed content with the item she had just gifted her. Amity’s eyes darted to Luz’s canines. They looked sharper, which was a bit concerning. Automatically, she felt sweat beginning to form at the nape of her neck. She blinked in surprise.

Was she scared?

“There you two are! Jeez Luz, tell us when you walk off next time!” Willow scolded, having just walked around the corner. Quickly, the two girls jumped apart, faces burning in embarrassment. “Did she find Amity?” Gus asked, peeking around his friend to spot the green-haired girl. He lit up in excitement “The gangs all here!” He announced, once again randomly pulling out a set of flags to way. These was black with cute blue ghosts sewed onto them. Amity sighed. “Yeah, she found me. Though in a rather odd way, but I’m here now. I just have to be home before midnight. My mother wants me back to watch the freedom of the spirits with the rest of the guests.” Amity confessed. Luz whimpered, which caused Amity to gently nudge her side.

“So, I guess we should start spirit hunting then!” Gus asked excitedly, basically bouncing in his spot. The girls all shared a look before shrugging. They allowed the young boy to lead them down a path out of Bonesborough and towards a trail that many people appeared to be taking into the woods. “Some people say the witches and Nymphs battled in this forest,” Willow whispered to Luz, giving the girl a bit of insight as to why so many people were entering it. Amity felt nervous as her ears twitched, hearing a bit of what Willow had whispered. Just how much had Willow told Luz?

Her golden eyes shifted to stare at her friend, a joyful expression remaining on her oblivious face. Apparently not much. Good. The group stopped outside the forest, a few families and couples walking around them to enter. “Should we split up or go together?” Willow asked. The group remained quiet as if any of the four were too nervous to speak. “We can split up. Since Amity is pressed for time and all, we can cover more ground that way.” Luz insisted, pointing to the girl beside her. “If we’re doing it that way, let's make it a challenge! If any of us find a spirit, the losing team has to buy scorched cocoa next week!” Gus declared excitedly. “That sounds reasonable.” Amity agreed with a shrug. “Yeah, but don’t you mean hot chocolate?” Luz asked with a raised brow.

  
Gus stared at her “What’s that?” He asked. Luz chuckled before telling him she’d grab a pack for him the next time she went home. “So, we’ll meet here in an hour, deal?” Willow asked, walking towards Gus to stand beside him. “Sounds good with me, but we’re totally going to beat you!” Luz stated, a weird sense of competitiveness overtaking her. She was quick to grab Amity’s hand, dragging the girl into the forest. She tried her best not to trip in her heels, begging for Luz to slow down as they ran. The two watched their friends disappear with curious expressions. “Well, we better get to it. I really want some free scorched cocoa.” Gus spoke with excitement as he began walking into the forest, meanwhile, Willow continued to stare in the direction that Luz and Amity had gone.

The two girls quickly broke from the path that most people were walking. “Luz, where are we going?!” Amity asked, her voicing catching Luz’s attention, making the girl calm down and stop. “If there was a war here, then wouldn’t the spirits linger farther into the forest rather than on a path?” Luz asked, glancing around and walking over to different trees. She began to circle around them, sniffing at them. Amity watched with a raised brow. “Uh, possibly, but what exactly are you doing?” She asked, walking up to the girl. Luz stared at her with excitement, tail wagging behind her. “If I could sniff you out, maybe I could sniff out a spirit!” She declared, going back to sniffing the air. Amity blinked. “Uh, yeah, you plan on sniffing out a hundreds-of-years-old spirit?” She asked, following Luz closely.

The taller girl shrugged “Worth a shot.” She said. Sighing, Amity continued forward, her feet beginning to ache due to the heels. However, she remained silent. They had spent the first several minutes searching nearby bushes, herbs that were popular with older witches, and even flowerbeds. “So, what are we exactly looking for? Like, to show us that a spirit is here?” Luz asked as she began to climb up a tree. Amity stopped looking through a bush. “I actually have no idea.” She admitted. The girls remained silent, just staring at each other for a moment. Luz climbed down from the tree, dusting her hands off onto her pants which made Amity cringe at the gesture. If she ever did such a thing, there was no doubt her parents would give her a lecture of how improper it was.

“So, what do we do now?” Luz asked, breaking Amity from her thoughts. The young witch glanced around curiously “I honestly have no idea. Maybe we should just head back to the main road. We can meet Willow and Augustus at the entrance.” Amity suggested, finally standing up and dusting her dress off. “It looks really nice on you.” Luz complimented, which took Amity by surprise. “The dress. It really looks nice.” She emphasized on what she was talking about. Amity felt her face burn, pulling the hood of the cloak up to cover her face. “Thank you.” Was all she could bring herself before turning away and heading back in the direction she believed they came from.

Luz quickly followed after her, a small smile on her face as she tried to stand beside Amity, wanting to admire her red-tinted face. However, the green-haired witch refused to let that happen. Luz remained quiet, enjoying the silence between them, and the calm atmosphere. “I can’t wait to go back to school this week.” She randomly brought up, catching Amity’s attention. Her face had calmed down, and her eyes now held curiosity. “I’ve really missed it.” She admitted, giving an awkward smile as a dark blush appeared on her cheeks. Amity gave her a soft smile. “And we’ve really missed you.” She confessed. As they walked, once again falling into silence, Amity’s eyes awkwardly shifted from the ground to Luz’s dangling hand. Her hand twitched, desperately wanting to hold Luz’s. Taking a deep breath, she tried to muster the courage to move, however, when she did, she was greeted with air.

Curiously, Amity turned to see that Luz was no longer beside her. Turning around fully she noticed the girl had stopped by a few trees, whatever was between them giving off a faint blue glow that shown across Luz’s face. “Luz?” She gently called out, walking towards the girl. Once Amity was beside her, she turned to see what she was staring at. A pond that appeared to be giving off the blue glow. Well, that was certainly new. Amity anxiously watched as Luz walked forward, quick to go after her, and even reached out to grasp onto the back of her shirt. They stopped at the edge. Luz got down on her knees, Amity dropping down beside her, and they both glanced into the clear water. They could see different colorful stones at the bottom, but what really caught their attention was the odd mist that appeared to be swimming around.

“Is that-?” Luz began,

“A spirit.” Amity finished.

The two watched in amazement as the mist swirled along the bottom of the pond, sometimes appearing on the top, before diving back under. “A water nymph,” Amity commented. It must have tried returning to its home to heal, just to fail and die in the water instead. Her heart ached as she thought about the history of witches.

They were just as guilty.

The mist appeared to stop, having disappeared from the water. They blinked in confusion, “Where did it go?” Luz asked, eyes scanning the water, even leaning off to the side to see if it had gone to another end. A loud splash caught her attention, her eyes darting towards it. A pale blue creature with long-haired appeared to be quickly swimming under the water towards them. On instinct, Luz reached across Amity, catching both the creature in the water and the green-haired witch by surprise. The creature had stopped at the edge, just eyeing the two with its white eyes. Its body had many different swirls and designs across it, and its hair nearly blended in with the color of the water When Luz turned to stare at her friend her eyes widened slightly. Her arm was half transformed, and her claws were extended.

Amity didn’t know what to be more afraid of. The large hand in front of her, or the deceased nymph eyeing them. She was simply feeling overwhelmed at the moment.

“A friendship with a witch. It really has been over hundreds of years.” It commented, its voice reminding them of an echo and its eyes never left the two. “Be cautious. Witches are rather manipulative beings.” It continued, eyes now shifting to glance at Luz. “A werewolf. I haven’t seen one in years.” It whispered, pressing its hands against the dry ground to push itself out of the water. The girls tried to scamper backwards, however, it reached out a hand, gently grasping Luz’s normal wrist. The creature’s hand was cold, slowly making its way up Luz’s arm. Could she slash at a spirit and hurt it? Luz had no clue, but it was clearly making her uncomfortable, and did not recognize the term personal space.

Its cold hand pressed against Luz’s cheek, causing a chill to spread throughout her body. “Your species is just as beautiful as I remember.” The nymph commented, leaning in closer. Luz quickly leaned back; the nymphs face coming way too close to her own. Amity cleared her throat, catching both of their attention. She looked far from pleased with her arms crossed and narrowed eyes. “Don’t you need to prepare to ascend or something? We found you so you’re free now, so I believe that we can leave now.” She asked, tapping her fingers against her arm, clearly annoyed. The nymph stared, its eyes narrowing as well. “Is this your mate?” It asked, causing Luz to choke on air. Her face quickly began to burn, as she shuffled back farther from the nymph, her half-transformed arm wrapped around Amity, bringing her close. “Uh, we’re kinda just, um-” Luz gave an awkward laughing, stumbling over her words. “Is it really your business if we are or not?” Amity snapped back, face becoming red with anger. Luz quickly looked at Amity. “Huh?” She asked, cheeks burning red.

The nymph’s eye’s widened slightly at the outburst. “What a feisty one.” It commented, backing away to slip back into the water. “But I must thank you for setting me free. May the blessing of the nymphs of nature be with you.” It whispered, slipping back into the water and disappearing. The girls remained where they were. That was more anticlimactic than she had expected. After a few moments, Luz’s eyes shifted towards her arm. It was still half transformed, though her claws were retracting, and the hair seemed to be disappearing. It meant it would be back to normal in the next few minutes. “Can we just sit here for a while?” Luz asked, sparing a glance at Amity. Her expression was unreadable, though she gave a small nod. They remained quiet until Luz’s arm returned to normal, though the arm of the shirt was now ruined more than it was when Luz had slashed at it.

Luz was the first to stand, reaching a hand out towards Amity who looked hesitant. With tired movements, she reached up and placed her hand in Luz’s, allowing the girl to help her up. She winced, something Luz quickly took note of. “Are you okay?” She asked, glancing down at Amity’s feet. “Yeah, my feet just hurt a bit from the heels,” Amity claimed, refusing to let the girl know how bad it was. Her face burned a dark shade of red as Luz scooped her up. “You don’t have to carry me!” Amity admitted, staring up at the girl who had begun walking. Luz ignored her, much to Amity’s distaste. It took a few minutes for them to find the path again, Luz heading back towards the entrance once they had found it.

Willow and Gus waited for them, looking rather defeated. However, the pair perked up once they noticed their friends. “Hey, guys! Did you find anything?!” Gus asked excitedly, beginning to bounce in his spot. “Amity, are you okay?” Willow piped up, staring at the two with a raised brow. “Her feet hurt, so I’m going to take her home,” Luz announced, walking past her two friends. Amity glanced over Luz’s shoulder, giving a weak wave goodbye towards the two. “So, I’m guessing they didn’t find anything?” Gus asked. However, Willow didn’t reply, too busy watching her friends disappear into a crowd of people.

Luz had decided to take the back-alley ways, not really wanting to draw attention to themselves as she tried to get Amity home. “I can walk home from here Luz,” Amity complained as they reached the beginning back leading to Amity’s neighborhood. However, her voice fell on deaf ears. She could, however, feel Luz’s grip tighten slightly through the fabric of the cloak. She didn’t stop till they were outside Blight manor, the sounds of a party raging on echoing from inside. It wasn’t till then that Luz allowed Amity to slip from her grasp. The green-haired girl leaned against the gate of the estate, feet once again aching. “Thank you.” Was all she could bring herself to say. Luz simply remained quiet, staring down at the girl she cared about. “Hey, Amity?” She finally spoke for the first time since leaving the forest. She perked up, feeling a bit relieved that her friend wasn’t planning to walk away from her, and simply hummed, letting her know she was listening.

“What do you want us to be?” Luz wanted to ask so badly.

“Is this your mate?” The voice of the nymph echoed inside her mind. “Was she?” Luz thought to herself.

She opened her mouth, planning to speak the question she so desperately wanted to ask. She balled her hands up in fists against her sides, trying to gain the courage, but winced. She stared down at her right hand. Taking note of not only the torn sleeve but the fresh blood that bubbled at the surface of her skin, beginning to spill from the marks her claws had made.

“Good night,” She simply whispered instead, reaching out to bring Amity into a hug, which the girl gratefully accepted. They pulled apart, staring at each other for a few seconds. “Good night,” Amity responded, turning away to make her journey back towards her home. Luz waited till she was inside before turning away to head back to her own home. Meanwhile, Amity was quick to slip the cloak off at the door, folding it and taking it to her room to hide. Once she came back downstairs, she joined her parents and siblings outside with the rest of the guests as the clock prepared to strike midnight.

However, Luz had gone straight to her room once she returned home. Lilith and Eda had waited up on her, silently turning in for the night once she got home safely. There was clearly tension in the air when she had first entered. That night Luz lied in bed for the first time in days, staring at the ceiling. King slept at the end of her bed, snoozing soundly, something she wished she could do. However, her head shifted to stare at last year's Grom photo. A singular picture of her and Amity together, both looked nervous as their photos were taken.

Her heart ached as she stared.

She knew exactly what both of them wanted to be.

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Fanart Shout Out!

(Fanart by watamelyn on Instagram!)

Happy Halloween everyone! Please remember to stay safe and wear a mask!


	6. First Day Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Monday having arrived, Luz is less than ready to return to school, especially with new changes that have occurred over the weekend...
> 
> ________________________________________________________________________________________  
> I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I aim to have at least one chapter out a week!  
> Please feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing your feedback!  
> ___________________________________________________________________________________  
> Art and permission were given to use by Saatiew@SaatieW on Twitter!  
> Feel free to follow me on my social media for updates on the story!  
> Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired, Instagram: _tiredleaf_, Tumblr: tiredleaf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is 2 weeks late! School has been crazy, but everything should be back on schedule as the semester comes to an end! 
> 
> Remember if you like this chapter to leave a comment and a kudo's! I love hearing back from y'all!

CAUTION: CHAPTER CONTAINS SLIGHT MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND SOME MATERIAL THAT MAY BE SENSITIVE TO READERS

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Luz remained in bed with her blankets pulled over her head, the sun barely providing enough light to illuminate the room due to how early it was. She held her phone in her hands as she rested on her side, nails that had gotten sharper and just a bit longer, anxiously tapping on the screen as she waited. A picture of her mother was on the screen, a phone underneath the image showing that she was trying to get in contact with her. She nearly gave up, about to hit the red button as she believed her mother to still be asleep. It wasn’t until the screen shifted to show half of her mother’s face, that she quickly pulled her thumb away from the red hang-up button. “Good morning Mija!” Her mother greeted her rather loudly, which made her pointy ears twitch. “Morning mami, how are you?” Luz greeted in a tired voice.

She listened with a soft smile as her mother sighed. “Tired, I have to work a double tonight since some of the staff are becoming sick due to the yearly flu.” Camila sighed. Luz took in her mothers’ appearance. She wore her normal blue scrubs and kept her hair up as usual. The only new things she had noticed were the dark circles under her eyes and the few gray pieces of hair pulled back neatly in her usual bun. “I’m sorry to hear that mami, when do you get a day off?” Luz asked, listening as her mother rustled with the phone. She watched her prop the phone up on something, standing back to make sure it would not fall before turning towards their old coffee machine. “I’ll actually have some time off next week. Oh, are you finally coming to visit?!” Her mother asked excitedly as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Shifting her brown eyes nervously, Luz tried to figure out an excuse. However, her heart ached as she watched her mother prepare her usual coffee, awaiting her daughters answer. “I can see about coming over. It’s just I have a lot of homework and stuff.” She let slip, hoping it would satisfy her mother. “If you want, I can help you study. We used to do it all the time when you were younger.” Her mother suggested, taking a small sip from the dark liquid in her cup. Memories began to resurface in Luz’s mind. Times her mother would hold up flashcards to help her practice learning new words and their meanings. The irritating hours they spent on math homework that was not explained well. As well as science projects that were put together last minute.

However, when she went to spend time with her mother, that is what she wanted, time with her mother. As much as she loved school and learning new spells, she did not want that crowding the small amount of time she would get to spend with her mami. “Thank you for the offer, but when I come home, I just want to spend time with you. Not worry about magic and school.” She stated, eyes following her mother as she once again picked up her phone. “Understandable Mija, just remember that I always keep an extra stack of flashcards.” She joked, once again taking a sip of her coffee. Her eyes then lit up, surprising Luz a bit. Either her mother had something to tell her or she just got a random hit of caffeine that helped wake her up. “I was going through some old boxes, looking for items to sell or donate, and found something,” Camila claimed, walking down the hallway with the screen shifting towards the floor as her mother walked.

The movement of the phone caused the floor and wall to pass by quickly, which made Luz feel a bit dizzy, so she simply shifted her eyes away for a moment. The rising sun began to illuminate the room even more, which made Luz pull her blankets tighter around her. King had slept with either Eda or Lilith last night since he never came to her room. She remembered the poor little demon complaining about how she had kicked him multiple times in her sleep while shifting. However, that was not the only thing she’d been doing. She’s woken up to shredded sheets and pillows due to her nails, which she now clipped every morning.

Her hearing had enhanced even more, to the point that it nearly drove her up a wall as she listened to Hooty talk to the little bugs it tried chasing and eating at the late hours of the night. However, one of her main concerns had come from how her hair had rapidly grown, even if it was just a bit. The usual outgrown pixie cut could now easily be pulled back into a short ponytail, not to mention her weak nerd arms did not seem to exist anymore. Having, easily lifted the couch to grab King's stuffed bunny, and even climbing a tree without breaking a sweat to catch a critter that had been making noise outside her window.

The voice of her mother saying, “Here it is!” caused the girl to jump just a bit in surprise before glancing back at her screen. Her mother was holding up a stuffed otter in front of the screen, causing the young afro-latinas eyes to widen. “I haven’t seen Mr. Otterton since I was like, eight!” Luz called out excitedly, eyes sparkling with childish glee. She listened as her mother chuckled, continuing to dig around in one of the many boxes once again. She placed the stuffed otter on Luz’s old dresser, trying her best to prop the stuffed toy up as she placed a little top hat on its head and tried to get the little creature to hold its cane. Luz watched in amusement as her mother cursed lowly, trying to get the creature to balance its cane under its stuffed paw, before stepping away once she succeeded. “I found him in the attic when I was looking through old boxes. I remember how upset you were when we first lost him. I guess I accidentally packed him up when we were moving here.” Her mother claimed, reaching over to pick off none existent lent and dust from the creature.

Luz continued to stare longingly at the stuffed animal before her eyes widened. “You’re not selling him, are you?!” She asked, panic clear in her voice and a hurt expression making its way onto her face. “What? No! I would never sell him! I know he was your favorite toy! I was just, you know, wondering if you want him back or if you’d like for me to hold onto him for you?” Her mother suggested, fixing the top hat that had begun to lean sideways. Luz thought it over. As much as she’d love to see the stuffed animal again, she also knew that King would possibly take it. Even if he didn’t, she didn’t want to risk shredding it in her sleep or, her face began to burn with embarrassment, Amity seeing such a childish toy. Her heart ached. She hadn’t spoken to the girl since the night of Spirits Day.

“Is this your mate?” The nymph’s words echoed in her mind.

She was sure she looked like a tomato by now. “Luz honey, are you there?” Her mother called out; her camera once again focused on her face which held clear concern. “Oh, sorry mami! I think you should just keep him there; you know, give him a big hug and think of me whenever you look at him.” She chuckled, shifting to lie on her back as she watched a tired smile appear on her mother’s face. “Oh cariño, I don’t need a stuffed animal to look at to remind me of you. I think about you every day.” Her mother reassured her; eyes soft as she stared at her daughter. Luz felt her heart swell, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. “I miss you to mami.” Luz whimpered. She listened as her mother gently shooshed her, trying to calm her down with soft words and promises that everything was going to be okay. Oh, how she didn’t know everything was far from okay.

“I’ll get back with you by the end of the week about staying over next weekend. I promise.” Luz claimed, sniffing and whipping the tears away from her eyes. Her mother told her to take her time and focus on school, that she’d see her when she was available. Her mother understood that Luz also still helped Eda around and went on adventures, but at the same time, her mother was her mother and she simply missed her. She missed a nonmagical part of her and as of right now, she was missing it more than ever. She watched as her mother blew her a kiss, wishing her a good day at school before hanging up. Luz remained wrapped in her blankets, her chest aching and once again wanting nothing more than to cry. She bit her bottom lip, her fangs pressing harshly into the soft flesh, threatening to let blood spill. Her ears twitched, and her grip tightened on her phone.

“Don’t cry, don’t get angry.”

“Don’t cry, don’t get angry.”

She repeated those words in her head. After a while she finally flipped the blankets off, slipping out of bed to get ready for school.

“Okay, it should be dry,” Eda stated, holding out Luz’s school uniform. Lilith examined it, walking around and gently feeling at the fabric to make sure it had dried properly throughout the night. King watched from the dinner table with concerned eyes, “Are you two sure she’ll be okay?” He asked, watching as the two witches examined every inch of the uniform. The women exchanged a look before glancing back at the demon. “We’ve decided that for the first few weeks we’ll be setting up the stand closer to Hexside, just in case something was to happen,” Lilith stated, finally dropping the sleeves of the uniform. King slipped from his chair to walk over to the sisters. “Trust us, King, Luz will have all her preppy little Hexside friends with her there to keep her under control. At least the green-haired one.” Eda snickered, earning her a look from her older sister. “Come on now, don’t tease them like that.” Lilith scolded before walking over to the fridge to refill her mug with apple blood.

King walked around the uniform that Eda kept in her hands, stopping at the back. His eyes narrowed and searched it “Where’s the opening for her tail?” He asked, gently tugging at the skirt. Eda chuckled, puffing her chest with a bit of pride, “We soaked it overnight in a special potion. Lots of students who have tails use it to help prevent them from getting stepped on and pulled at. All she has to do is tuck her tail in and she’ll look as if she doesn’t have one.” She explained. Lilith's heterochronic eyes shifted to glare at her younger sibling “And some people like to change the potion a bit to make people who don’t originally have tails appear to have one.” She stated through grit teeth, hands squeezing her mug more than she should. King glanced at the sister, Liliths irritated look contrasting against Eda’s proud and smug one. “Oh Lily, it wasn’t that bad,” Eda claimed, folding up the uniform to take up to Luz.

Lilith’s face burned with embarrassment. “I walked around school all day with a squirrel’s tail Edalyn!” Lilith growled, finding the memory more and more distasteful as she thought about it. The giggles she had received and teasing that she didn’t understand due to not realizing what her younger sister had done to her uniform. It wasn’t till a teacher pointed it out as she entered her potions class did everything click. Eda had claimed it was a mishap, but the look she gave her said otherwise. An innocent prank, Eda had called it, meanwhile, an act that had people giggling for weeks at Lilith was what the older sibling had called it. “Oh, don’t be so sour Lily, the fluffy tail matched your fluffy hair at the time,” Eda stated with a chuckle, earning a growl from her sister who looked ready to throw her mug at her.

Quickly, Eda darted up the stairs before her sister could go through with the action. She stopped in front of Luz’s door, gently knocking in case the girl was still asleep. Once she pushed it open, she was a bit surprised to see that she was already out of bed, the item having been made up. She glanced towards the bathroom, listening as the faint sound of the sink caught her ears. She could just leave the uniform on her bed, but Eda was curious. Slipping inside, Eda made her way towards the bed, gently setting the uniform down at the edge. She tossed the comforter back, eyes softening at the sawn together sheet. It was bad stitchwork, but they were together. It made Eda’s heart ache. Why didn’t the kid just tell her that she had destroyed the sheets again? Then again, having had changed the sheets at least two sometimes three times a week could become embarrassing after a while.

The sounds of a door squeaking open caught Eda’s attention. She made quick work to fix the bed, adjusting the uniform to look neat before quickly making her way towards the door. She opened it quickly, scaring the girl behind it. They both jumped in a bit of shock from the encounter, though quickly regained their stances. “Morning Eda, how are you doing?” Luz asked with an awkward smile, dancing around her mentor without breaking eye contact. “Oh, uh, I’m good! Great! I just came up to bring you your uniform!” She claimed, forcing a smile and leaning against the door frame. “Oh?” That was all Luz managed to say, nervously making her way over to her bed and glancing it over. She was checking to see if anything was out of place.

If Eda had seen what she had been doing.

The woman in question cleared her throat “Yep! Your uniform is all good! We’ll just have to continue washing it in the potion though. But it’s not a big deal! It won’t last long because we’ll definitely find a cure!” Eda tried her best to reassure her student. She watched as Luz gently rubbed her fingers over the fabric of the uniform, taking note that her nails had been cut. She cleared her throat, earning her the attention of the human “Lily and I prepared breakfast already. You might want to hurry, don’t want to be late on your first day back to school.” She joked with a snort. Luz gave the woman a weak smile, “I’ll be quick.” Was all she said in response. Silently, Eda closed the door behind her, holding her breath until she got downstairs to release the smallest sigh she could muster.

Lilith gave her younger sibling a curious glance from the table where she sat, however, Eda simply shook her head. She would tell her later. Luz was obviously going through something she didn’t want them to know about. Eda’s heart ached. Since when did Luz start keeping secrets?

She took a seat from across her sister, King acting quick to scamper into his own seat to act normal for when Luz came down. Not long after the girl made her way down the stairs, her usual pep not in her step. She gave the group a tired smile once she reached the bottom, fully dressed in her Hexside uniform and a red beanie. “How do I look?” Luz asked. They knew what she was referring to. She turned around, and the two women gave a sigh of relief. It had worked. Her tail wasn’t visible anymore. Eda was the first to speak, “You look great kid.” She complimented. Lilith hummed, giving a nod of agreement “I must agree, you look wonderful! Good as ever in fact!” she claimed. Eda gently kicked at her sister from under the table, letting her know she was selling it too much.

Luz still looked unconvinced as she turned around. “A hundred percent?” She asked in a weak voice. Eda smirked, “A hundred percent. Now get over here before King eats your breakfast.” She demanded. All three women’s eyes shifted to the demon that was slowly trying to pull Luz’s plate towards himself. He gave an awkward laugh at being caught. “Uh, was just counting the eggs to make sure they were all there.” He lied, sliding the plate back in its spot slowly. Giggling, Luz walked by him, kissing the top of his skull head before taking a seat beside Eda. She listened as the two women conversed, poking at her food more than eating it. It had caught Lilith’s attention though she didn’t say anything. Whenever Eda would glance at her student, she would take a bite of her breakfast as if she had been doing so the entire time. She was watching them just as much as they were watching her. Their movements, their reactions, and who knew what else she knew. Did she know that they would be setting up shop closer to her school? That they were secretly digging around for lost spells of the cursed? That they were hiding the history of the Isles away from her?

Her anxiety began to rise; thus, she took a sip from her mug to help calm her nerves. It didn’t help. After a few minutes of aimless chatter, Luz stood, sliding most of her uneaten breakfast to King who was more than happy to finish it off for her. She gave her goodbyes, a hug for both Eda and Lilith before kissing King's head once again. She grabbed her backpack from the couch before rushing out the door and through the woods towards Hexside. The room remained quiet, all except for King's lips smacking as he devoured Luz’s breakfast. He licked the plate and glanced at the two women who simply sat contemplating. He cocked his head to the side in curiosity, “What’s wrong with you two?” He asked.

The sisters exchanged a look, debating on telling King. They knew he loved Luz and wanted what was best for her, but at the same time, there was the chance he would let what they tell him spill. They knew that Luz would most likely get upset, and having an upset werewolf running around the owl house and Bonesborough did not sound fun. “We’re just a little nervous about Luz going to school today, but we know she’ll be alright,” Lilith claimed, standing up and taking the plate away from King. She collected both hers and Eda’s mug before walking over to the sink to begin doing dishes. Eda stood as well, lifting King out of his highchair “Lily and I are about to head into work. Are you coming along today?” Eda asked. The small demon shifted from foot to foot, glancing out the kitchen window. “One moment.” He asked, holding up one of his small claws before running towards the back door. He stepped outside, feeling the cold air nip at him before reentering the house. “Nope, no thanks.” He stated, walking into the living room to climb onto the couch for a nap.

Both the sisters bit back a smile at King's reaction to the cold weather. Lilith began to put the dishes away while Eda went to grab two warm cloaks for them. When she came back, she handed a navy-blue cloak with white trim around the edges to the older woman. She had a red one that matched, Lilith noted. “Where did you get these?” Lilith asked, slipping the warm fabric around her shoulders. “Well, I got the cloth on sale by a guy that owed me a favor, and the wool is from the screech sheep Luz coughed up.” Eda stated, slipping her own cloak around her shoulders. Lilith blinked, eyes getting wide as she shifted to glance at the wool. Eda rolled her eyes “Oh don’t give it that look! I washed it!” She claimed with a hand on her hip. Her older sibling gave a low sigh in relief, releasing the fabric and dusting it for any loose strands of wool. Eda grabbed Owlbert from beside the door as well as the large bag of junk. Both the sisters made their way outside, stopping to attach the ends of the large bag to both of their staffs, making it easier to carry. They took off, letting the chilly winds push them along towards the edge of Bonesborough where they would set up for the next few weeks.

Luz inhaled sharply as Hexside came into view. Usually, her heart would be a flutter, excited to learn something new, but today she felt as anxious as she did on her first day of school. Her stomach began to ache and sadly not with butterflies. Maybe she shouldn’t have come back? Eda would understand if she went home right? This was a bad id-, “Hey Luz!” Willow called out to her.

Too late.

Luz gave a tired smile and a small wave towards her friends. “Everything all right?” Her best friend asked, cocking her head to the side just a bit. “Oh yeah! Just a bit nervous about all the tests I missed!” She lied, throwing in an awkward chuckle. Willow gently patted her back, “I’m sure you’ll be fine, the teachers will understand and allow you to make them up.” She reassured the concerned afro-latina. Luz glanced around, searching for Gus, as well as hoping to change the topic of conversation. “So, where’s Gus this morning? Usually, he’s here by now.” Luz asked, shifting her brown eyes back to her friend. Willow hummed lowly “He went to the Human Appreciation Society’s clubroom to set it up for this evening.” She claimed, trying to remember what the younger witch had told her exactly.

“Thus, it’ll just be you, me, and Amity this morning,” Willow stated, glancing around to see if Amity had arrived yet or was on her way. Luz tensed, cheeks burning. She wasn’t ready to face Amity yet, not after ignoring her all weekend, nor after the nymph incident. “Actually, maybe we could go help, Gus?” Luz requested, gently grabbing her friend’s hand to try and lead her up the staircase. Willow stared at Luz with a raised brow, “But shouldn’t we wait for Amity?” She asked. Luz continued to gently tug her friend up the stairs towards the entrance of the school “I’m sure she’ll understand. We’ll meet with her at lunch!” The human insisted, finally getting Willow to the top and dragging her to the classroom where the club was usually held. They stood outside the door, a larger and what appeared to be a strained smile on Luz’s face. “Guy’s! What brings you two to the club?” Gus asked in a rather excited tone as he spotted his friends.

The two girls walked into the classroom, Luz closing the door behind them much to both Willows and Gus’s surprise. “Just came to see if you need any help is all!” Luz stated with hands on her hips. This would at least provide her a little distance from Amity to try and clear her head as well as get her emotions in order. “Was it necessary to close the door though?” Gus asked, placing one of the human ‘artifacts’ back onto his table. “Ah you know, it is grudgby season. Which means if Boscha see’s us she’ll probably pick on us you know?” Luz stated, walking over to one of Gus’s boxes full of human artifacts and picking up a ball cap with a plant inside it. Willow and Gus exchanged a look, both shrugging in confusion. They glanced back at their friend who placed the cap on the table along with a few other items. The two began to help her, not really wanting to pry on why she was acting weird. They knew that when she was ready to talk, she would tell them what was going on. After about ten minutes the group dusted off their hands, having set up the rest of the artifacts.

Luz leaned against the wall, admiring the setup. “Looks good! Everything up to code Mr. President?” Luz asked her friend who checked over his paper crown. He smiled, excited to have finished early “It looks perfect! I might need you two to come help me more often.” Gus joked, causing the group to share in a small laugh. The group were interrupted however by a soft knock against the door. Was class starting already? The bell hadn’t screamed yet had it? No, they definitely would have heard it. “Hello? Is anyone in there?” The soft voice of Amity came through the door. Willow perked up, happy that her friend had found them. Some students must have told her that they had come through and entered the classroom.

“Yeah, we’re in here!” Willow called out, rushing to open the door for the green-haired witch. Luz began to panic; thus, she grabbed her backpack and followed her instincts. Amity smiled as her friend came into view. “Good morning! Sorry, we didn’t wait on you, Luz thought it’d be a good idea to come help, Gus.” Willow stated, adjusting her glasses in a bit of embarrassment. Amity’s eyes widened slightly, “Oh, I see. Is she still here? I was actually hoping to speak to her before classes begin.” She requested, shifting to try and look past Willow. The plant witch gave a small nod, stepping out of the way to allow her friend inside “Yep! If you want Gus and I can leave.” She offered. The Blight glanced around the room for a second before shifting her gaze back towards Willow. “That would be nice, but uh, where is she exactly?” Amity asked, turning her full attention back towards Willow. “Uh, she’s right-?” Gus had begun to speak, pointing towards the wall where Luz had been leaning but was cut short.

The window was open, and Luz was gone. The three witches rushed towards the window to see Luz running across the courtyard towards the stables for beast keeping. “Luz, what are you doing?!” Willow called out after her. The afro-latina didn’t even bother to turn around, but instead yelled back “I have beast keeping as my first period today! I want to get there early and turn some stuff in!” She screamed, earning a few odd glances from passing students. “Okay then?” Gus spoke slowly. Amity sighed, causing Gus and Willow to glance at her. “It’s fine, I’ll just talk to her at lunch.” She claimed.

Oh, how wrong she was.

The group had waited for their friend at their usual table, but she never showed. When Willow went to her next class, Luz was already inside waiting. “Uh, want to tell me why you skipped lunch?” The plant witch asked her friend with crossed arms and a raised brow. Luz awkwardly chuckled, “I really wanted to get a few of the tests I had missed knocked out, so I spent my lunch break going to illusions and beast keeping.” She claimed. It sounded reasonable enough to Willow, and a small smile appeared on her face. At least Luz wasn’t slacking on catching up. Class continued as normal. The two were paired up for a small lab, which nearly ended in disaster as two other plant witches plant tried eating the students.

Ah yes, a normal day at Hexside. Oh, how Luz had honestly missed it.

Well, it would have felt normal if she didn’t keep dodging Amity with every chance she got. From using the detention track hideout to get to her different classes to avoid Amity, jumping over railings and hanging off the edge, earning a few looks from students. She had even locked herself inside her own locker once she heard the witch's voice coming around the corner. She just wasn’t ready to face her yet. Her body tensed as the clock ticked away in her potions class. Her brain wasn’t processing any of the information being distributed by the teacher, instead of thinking of a way to get past Amity whose classroom was only four doors down. To make matters worse, she would have to pass her classroom to exit the school building. Her eyes once again shifted towards the windows of the school building. She couldn’t escape with all these people in here, especially with there being a few minutes left in class. Maybe she could sneak out the back of the school?

She began to panic, nervousness causing her to sweat. She felt her ears twitch, and quickly shifted to stare at her hands. Her nails were beginning to grow and sharpen. This couldn’t be happening now! She felt her canines begin to grow, threatening to piece through her lip. She tried taking calming breaths which only helped just a bit. She wasn’t ready to face Amity yet. To hear what she had to say, especially since Luz’s changes over the weekend.

One-minute left.

She watched as her hands began to enlarge slightly, fur threatening to sprout from her tan skin. She felt like she was going to be sick and her body was beginning to ache. Her eyes frantically shifted around the classroom. That’s when they landed on the cauldron beside her, the student in charge of it having turned away to speak to the people behind them. Titan forgive her. Luz made sure nobody was looking before knocking over a purple liquid into the person's cauldron. She watched as the normal yellow smoke turned into a dark green, a foul scent beginning to fill the air, as well as a large cloud of smoke, began to bubble over. “Uh, hey, I think somethings wrong with your potion,” Luz called out to her neighbor, who stared at her confused.

It wasn’t till they turned around, their eyes widening as they grabbed the spoon to stir the cauldron. This only seemed to worsen the problem. “I swear I used the correct ingredients!” They growled, stepping back as the liquid inside began to bubble onto the table and floors, the stench worsening by the second. “Everyone, evacuate!” The teacher screamed, picking up their book and opening the door for the students. Luz was quick to grab her stuff, following the coughing students out into the hallway. She held her cowl up to her nose, trying her best to not inhale the putrid stench, to little success. She adjusted her beanie as she exited, watching as the smoke-filled the halls.   
  
“Oh, my Titan, what’s that smell?!”  
  


  
“Potions again!”  
  


“Did something fall into someone's cauldron and die?!”

Students whined as they all exited their classrooms, bags in hand as they headed towards the front entrance. Luz was quick to turn and head the opposite way, hoping to slip out the back and around the grudgby field.

Meanwhile, Eda’s nails gently tapped against the counter in annoyance. The snake-like creature in front of her picked up one of the many items at her stand. Usually, she didn’t care, as long as the customer bought something, however, this specific customer had come by multiple times that day just picking up items and mumbling about them. She watched as it slipped on an old coat, turning in front of the mirror to see how it looked on them. It shook its head, tossing the coat away before picking up a broken lamp. “Listen are you going to buy something or what?” Eda snapped. The creature simply glanced at her before shifting its attention back to the lamp, “What would make a good birthday present?” It asked, cocking its head to the side. The older witch sighed, “Depends on who you’re shopping for.” She stated, leaning against her arm that was placed on the table.

The snake blinked, “I can’t remember which siblings’ birthday it is.” It admitted. Eda hit her head against the table.

She looked up, however, once a shadow loomed over her. Bored, she glanced up at the person. Lilith stared down at her younger sister with a raised brow before glancing over at the snake who was now picking up a pair of old socks. She made a face before looking back at her sister. “No luck?” Eda asked, fixing her hair as she stood straight. A sigh escaped the black-haired witch, “Still on maternity leave.” She stated. The man across from the stand was far from happy that Lilith had returned to see if the owners were back, having scolded the woman for harming his produce last time. “Maybe we should just ask where they live and go drop in for a ‘visit’” Eda suggested, using her fingers to quote what she meant. Lilith rolled her eyes at her sister, “We’re not bombarding a pregnant couple.” She said with annoyance in her voice.

“That baby should be birthed by now!” Eda growled as she slammed her fist on the table. Lilith felt a headache coming on. “Calm yourself Edalyn! We will find where they live and speak to them in a CIVIL manner.” The eldest Clawthorne sister stated with narrowed eyes. The snake person shuddered at the tension in the air, turning to see the two women glaring each other down. “I’ll uh, just be going.” It stated, placing the socks down and rushing away. The two women continued to stare at each other until a putrid scent caught their attention. They were quick to cover their noses a look of disgust appearing on their features. Their eyes quickly darted towards the direction of Hexside, noticing students coming towards them. As they got closer, the smell only got worse. They watched as stand owners gagged, some customers even turning away to throw up at the scent.

A lot of the stands were quick to pull their curtains and steel bars down, closed signs being hung up right after. “My mom is going to kill me when I come home smelling like this.” A student grumbled as they passed by the Clawthorne sister’s stand. “Tell me about it! The whole school is going to have to bathe in Kraken milk tonight.” The student's friend groaned. The sisters shared a look of concern. Eda was quick to stand on top of her table, glancing over the sea of students, meanwhile Lilith grabbed her staff to fly over them. “Do you see her?!” Eda yelled after her sister, earning herself a few looks from the smelly students. “No!” Lilith called back, concern eating at them both. Eda’s eyes shifted through the wave of students until they landed on three specific witches. Quickly, she began waving her arms frantically. “Hey, kids!” She yelled, earning the three’s attention.

The group pushed through the small crowd, though they stopped at Eda held Owlbert out towards them. “That’s far enough you stink bombs.” She stated, earning her a glare from Luz’s friends. “Where’s Luz?” She asked, hand on her hip. The group exchanged a look of concern. “We don’t know. We tried waiting on her, but the smell was so bad near the school.” Gus admitted, cheeks darkening in guilt and embarrassment. Eda rolled her eyes. “Fine, then you,” She pointed Owlbert at Amity who stared up at the older witch in surprise, “Where’s my kid?” She asked. Amity’s eyes widened “I don’t know, I swear! I’ve tried talking to her all day, but she’s been avoiding me!” She huffed, clearly annoyed with the human girl. Luz didn’t want to see Amity? Well, that was a first. Eda sighed, “Alright, we’ll see if we can find her, you three get home, you reek.” She snorted as their expressions shifted once more into looks of annoyance.

“Please have Luz call us or message us when she gets home so we know she’s safe!” Willow requested as she and Gus once again began their journey home. Meanwhile, Amity remained in front of Eda. “Is Luz mad at me? Because I snapped at the nymph on Spirits Day? Am I reading something wrong between us?” Amity asked a flurry of questions; one out of the three that Eda knew she could partially answer. The older witch was taken back by the onslaught of questions that appeared out of nowhere. “Huh? What happened on Spirits Day? I’m uh, fairly sure she’s not mad?” Was all Eda could manage to say. This didn’t seem to ease Amity’s worries any. Why hadn’t she told them about the nymph on Spirits Day? Usually, such a discovery would have Luz chatting everyone’s ear off. Was she embarrassed about Amity’s reply towards the creature?

Amity shifted from one foot to the other, “Could you please just tell her I want to talk?” She requested. Eda’s eyes softened, a small smile appearing on her face. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You know Luz is going through a tough time right now, but I’ll relay your message to her.” She promised. A weak smile appeared on Amity’s face followed by a weak thank you. The woman watched as the witch turned and headed down a road that would lead to her neighborhood. The gentle sound of feet landing onto the table caused Eda to turn her head. Lilith leaned against her staff, a look of concern on her face. “Is she alright?” She asked, glancing in the direction Amity had went. Eda glanced in that direction as well, “I don’t really know. She had mentioned something about Spirits Day and an incident that happened, but I don’t feel we have the authority to pry. I understand this is Luz we’re talking about, but at the same time I don’t want her getting upset.” She sighed.

Lilith stared at her sister with sympathy. “I just don’t understand how we’re supposed to help her if she’s not telling us anything!” The woman snapped, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Quickly, Lilith dropped her staff onto the table, bringing her sister into a hug. A few people who were heading home gave the siblings strange glances, however, they were ignored. “It’ll be alright. This is new for all of us. We just have to make sure she’s happy and knows that everything is going to be okay. We will find a cure for her Edalyn.” The eldest Clawthorne rubbed her younger siblings back, bringing her to sit onto the table as she cried.

Luz pushed through the woods, wanting nothing more than to claw her uniform off, to get rid of the stench that followed her. She sniffled, body aching as sobs escaped her. She wanted to get home. She wanted this to be over with. Luz tripped over her feet as her pace slowed, falling onto the ground with a grunt. She sobbed once more, but it was choked in replace of a scream. She felt her shoulder twist back, her body relocating and morphing her bones. It hurt so bad. With a bit of strength, she tried pushing herself to her feet, though stopped as her hands began to ache. She watched as her finger’s bones morphed and relocated themselves. Another scream escaped her throat along with a sob as her nails shifted into claws, sprouting from her nail beds with blood at the roots.

She lied there, allowing her body to twist and grow into the creature that she feared. Once the aching had stopped, she slowly opened her eyes. The furry ears on top of her head twitched in irritation at the noises around her. Creatures of the night flying away or galloping through the forest. She was tired. So, so tired. With the little bit of strength she could muster, she tried her best to shift onto all four’s, steadily making her way home. By the time she arrived the moon was high, and the lights of the owl house were on. Luz made her way around the back of the house, stopping to rest in the backyard where the tent once was. It was quiet for a moment until the faint sound of a large bag dropping and contents shattering and spilling out barely caused her to open her eyes. The backdoor was slung open, the wood hitting the wall, causing Hooty to whine in pain at the front of the house.

A low whine escaped her throat as the Clawthorne sisters stopped in front of her. Eda dropped to her knees, bringing her apprentices large face into her lap. She rubbed her hands over Luz’s snout, sobs wracking her body as she kissed the top of her nose and rubbed her face between Luz’s eyes. Meanwhile, Lilith tried not to puke at the putrid smell of the potion, mixed with Luz’s new dog like scent. “I’ll go grab the Kraken milk and some bandages.” She announced, turning back to head inside. Large tears slipped from Luz’s eyes; however, she was too tired to open them. She listened as her mentor cried, having been worried as to where her student had run off to after school instead of coming straight home like she had expected. If she kept her eyes closed, she could pretend everything was okay.

In the darkness behind her eyelids everything was normal. Her family was happy. She could visit her mother on the weekends. She was having ‘book club’ meetings with Amity. Yes, when she closed her eyes everything was normal. Who was she kidding-

She knew it was a lie.


	7. Seclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz decides she should take matters into her own hands about understanding what she's becoming, meanwhile Amity tries to rekindle a fake friendship into a possible new genuine one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I aim to have at least one chapter out a week!  
> Please feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing your feedback!  
> ___________________________________________________________________________________  
> Art and permission were given to use by Saatiew@SaatieW on Twitter! (The image will be uploaded later)  
> Feel free to follow me on my social media for updates on the story!  
> Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired, Instagram: _tiredleaf_, Tumblr: tiredleaf  
> ___________________________________________________________________________________  
> School is officially out for the semester so I aim to have chapters out weekly again!  
> Remember if you like this chapter to leave a comment and a kudo's! I love hearing back from y'all!

Luz sunk down into the warm bath of the milky purple liquid that Lilith had prepared for her. Her arms resting on the edge of the tub, sore fingers dangling with fresh bandages wrapped around them. Her shoulder ached, and she tried her best not to apply pressure on it as she leaned back. She had been out for nearly two hours. Eda and King having sat by her side outside in the cold, gently rubbing her head and applying small amounts of Krakens milk onto her fur to start getting rid of the horrible scent. 

Meanwhile, Lilith had prepared a simple soup dinner, the scent waking Luz up as well as causing her stomach to growl. She had forgotten that she had skipped lunch to avoid Amity. Her ears pressed against her head in shame. Eda and King had stepped back as Luz’s body began to shrink, King tensing as the cracking and shifting of Luz’s bones echoed throughout the clearing. She had only returned slightly, worrying Eda. 

However, she took notice of her apprentices’ pain, seeing as one of her shoulders did not pop back into place correctly. Luz remained on the ground, breathing heavily. King was quick to rush over to her, running his clawed hands through her hair, and between her fluffy ears that hadn’t returned to normal yet. Luz whimpered, listening as her mentor walked over and gently placed a hand on the back of her neck to hold her down. She then felt a sharp pain through her shoulder as Eda pressed her hand against it, forcing the bone to relocate in its proper position. Luz’s body tensed, a sharp whimper escaping her throat, causing King to jump back in surprise. 

Lilith’s grip on the spoon tightened from inside as she listened to Luz scream out into the night, however continued stirring. Eda had tried her best to lift the younger girl and even instructed King to follow her scent and find her belongings. In any situation where he would usually argue, he knew that his boo-boo buddy would get upset again once she realized her things were missing. 

Thus, King rushed past Eda to get inside the house and grab a cracked flashlight. She watched the little demon scamper past her, sniffing the air and following the scent to where Luz had once been. He tried his best to keep up with the scent as it began to get mixed around with creatures from the night. He noticed a few animals scampering away from one direction, and in that direction, the scent appeared to be the strongest. 

He honestly expected to be more disgusted with the scent but chalked it up to getting used to such smelly things after going with Eda to scavenge through trash slug carcasses. His eyes lit up as the flashlight shined on a dark blue bookbag, its contents spilling out. Rushing over, King placed the flashlight off to the side as he picked up Luz’s bag. Grabbing the few books and pencils that had spilled out, he was quick to shove them back in. Digging around in her bag, he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with her weekly schedule. With the day being Monday, he took note of the beast keeping, plant, and illusion courses she had that day. Thus, he double-checked her books to make sure they were all there, even going as far as to see if any of her notes had spilled out. 

The small demon rushed over to any nearby bushes, searching every inch of the clearing for pencils, pens, erasures, or assignments that could have stumbled out. Once everything seemed in place, King picked up the bag, slinging the heavy item over his shoulder, before picking up the flashlight and heading back home. There, Lilith double-checked the bath even going as far as to add a few more herbs and dried flowers to the purple mix. 

Watching the bittersweet liquid as she pulled her hand away brought back memories. The memories of last year, how Eda and Luz had accidentally gotten trash slug organs poured onto them as they accidentally cut it open in the wrong spot; Lilith needing to fix a bath of the same mixture for them outside in a worn-down kiddie pool once they arrived home. The two had sat in the mixture in their swimsuits, King throwing herbs and whatever else was supposed to go in there as Lilith scolded the two. 

She sighed, not expecting she would need to make the mixture again so soon. Lilith listened as the floorboards creaked under the weight of her sister. Rushing to open the door, she quickly stepped back, giving Eda room to step through. Lilith stared at Luz’s shredded uniform. They would have to dig out Eda’s old one or make a request to the school for a new one. Eda gently sat Luz down on the edge of the tub. She scanned the girl over. 

Tired brown eyes stared back at her. Reaching up, Eda gently brushed a few strands of hair out of Luz’s face. “You’re going to need to undress kid and get in the bath, you smell pretty awful.” Eda tried to joke but only received a tired nod from her apprentice. The older woman was scared to let go of her, nervous that she would fall back into the tub and drown. 

Instead, Lilith gently placed a hand on her shoulder, slipping her sister's hands away from her apprentice. She helped her up and led her out of the room. Eda remained in the door, though Lilith didn’t seem to care, as long as she wasn’t holding onto Luz. That didn’t stop the longing look, however, of Eda wanting nothing more than to hold her apprentice tight, to make sure nothing bad ever happened to her again. 

Lilith dug around inside the medicine cabinet, grabbing some cotton swabs and bandages. She ran the fluffy cotton under some water, before making her way over to the human girl. Getting on her knees, she gently took Luz’s hands, cleaning away the dried blood from her aching cuticles. The tips of her fingers were a nasty red, swollen, and obviously sensitive from the way Luz winced. Once she was done, Lilith gently wrapped bandages around each finger. She stood and picked up the trash on the floor before tossing them away. 

“If you need anything, just call for us.” Lilith insisted, staring down at the human girl before heading back to the door to lead Eda away. Once the door was closed Luz listened as her mentor and her sister started down the hall, footsteps light and weak. She sat on the edge of the tub, breathing slowly and trying to ignore the throbbing pain coming from her fingers. Using what little energy she could muster, she pushed herself off the edge of the tub to try and undress. She slipped into the warm liquid, a sigh wanting to escape her, but her aching throat refused to let that happen. 

Instead, she just allowed the warm liquid to envelope her. It didn’t take long for the horrid stench that once contaminated the air to disappear. Being taken over by the scent of the small flowers and herbs that had been dropped into the bath. Her tired eyes drifted over her torn uniform, pain swelling in her chest. She had destroyed her uniform. Would this mean she would have to contact Hexside for a new one? Who was she kidding, obviously they would. Slipping under the milk, Luz allowed it to rush over her. She tried her best to bathe, however, the bandages got wet, and she made a note to change them before leaving the bathroom. She slipped out, grabbing one of the many mix match towels and wrapping herself in one. 

Reaching for the bandages in the medicine cabinet, she placed them beside her on the counter. She stared at her reflection in the glass. The ears were gone from the top of her head, now having returned to her new normal. She shifted her head, staring at them. They seemed pointier, hardly any resemblance to a human’s ears, yet not a witches either. Her eyes shifted once more to stare down at her aching fingers. Gently, she unwrapped the bandages, cringing a bit at the pain that shot from her fingers and up her arms. 

Her cuticles were a dark red, throbbing and inflamed. Searching through the cabinet once more, Luz found a jar of a purple cream that Eda had put on her injuries before. Getting a small amount, she dabbed them onto her cuticles, sighing in a bit of relief at the numbing sensation it provided. She even applied a bit on her aching shoulder, tensing a bit before the numbing sensation took over.

Gently, the girl wrapped her fingers in fresh bandages, before tiredly hobbling to her room. She was quick to change into a fresh pair of pajamas before crawling between her shredded sheets. Her stomach growled, begging her to get up and go downstairs for food. She had basically skipped breakfast earlier that morning, as well as lunch. However, the idea of confrontation made her sick to her stomach. Then again, it could also be the lack of food in her stomach making her sick. Her ears twitched as they picked up the sound of Lilith and Eda moving around downstairs. “Do you think she’s okay? I don’t think she’s left the bathroom in some time.” Lilith’s voice was faint, but Luz could clearly hear her. 

The soft sounds of pattering feet walking to the fridge and opening it caught her attention, “She’s fine, probably tired. She left the bathroom a while ago. I heard her.” King commented, searching the fridge for something. Luz tensed. She had forgotten that King was basically a dog or wolf type of demon. “Coming home in her cursed form doesn’t sound “fine” King.” The older witch scolded. The small demon, however, rolled his eyes. Eda sat at the table, arms propped up and hands resting under her chin. She was clearly deep in thought, which concerned her older sibling. Gently, Lilith placed a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong Edalyn?” She asked, feeling she already knew the answer before her younger sibling even spoke. 

Eda gazed at her sister tiredly, “We should have never let her return to school. Not yet at least.” She stated, her eyes shifting from her sister to the table. Lilith felt a hint of guilt nip at her heart. She had stated it would be okay for Luz to return, that there was nothing to be concerned about. She should have known better. “I’m sorry Edalyn. I just thought that maybe she would be happier returning. I didn’t think everything through,” She apologized, causing her sister to once again gaze at her, “You’ve experienced having a curse since you were young, so you already knew what the outcome would be, didn’t you?” She asked. 

Eda took in a sharp breath before releasing it slowly. “I didn’t want her to think I was being paranoid or overprotective. I just thought, that with her follow the rule and goody Luz-shoes attitude, that things would be different.” She sighed. Lilith moved to reassuringly rub her sister's back. “She has such a good group of friends, I just thought there wouldn’t be anything to worry about with them there. You know how they always get each other out of trouble.” Eda claimed, a dry laugh following after. 

Lilith gave her a weak smile. “She really does. But I don’t think she’s told them everything. This is a new situation for her, and we don’t even know how they’d react. Even Amity is clearly getting used to this change still.” Lilith sighed, pulling her hand away to rest on the table. The sound of a chair being pulled out caught their attention, causing both women to glance across from them. 

King tossed up a bag of chips and slid a cup of juice onto the table. Climbing onto the chair he then proceeded to climb onto the table, staring at the women curiously. “I don’t see what the big deal is with people knowing that Luz is cursed. I mean, she’s basically a big fluffy dog and people love big fluffy things! Just look at me! I’m terrifying and fluffy, and people basically worship the ground I walk on!” King stated, before turning his attention to his chips. 

The sisters shared a look of concern, once again debating on if they should be honest with King or not. Their eyes shifted towards the staircase, almost as if expecting the younger witch in training to come tumbling down any second. Meanwhile, Luz held her breath upstairs. There was no doubt about it that people would get freaked out, even if she basically did turn into a big fluffy dog. Sure, it’s not the same as a big monstrous owl creature, but a big wolf was just as scary if not more. However, an idea clicked in her head. Eda and Lilith didn’t want her acting like a werewolf during Spirits Day at the idea it could offend people, thus that means there had to be information about werewolves that she could find. Maybe there was something she could take to help with controlling her moods, maybe some exercises or potions she could try? 

She understood that the older women were trying their best to search for a cure, but it didn’t seem fair. They were putting in all this effort to help her as she sat around and moped and pretended that she would get better sooner than later. Well, if she ever got better. The thought caused her heart to ache. No, she would get better, and to do that she needed to start doing a bit of research on her own. She couldn’t go into town, just in case something happened. Thus, she made a mental note to check the school’s library. It was sneaky, sure, but even Eda and Lilith had been distant when the topic would be brought up. Speaking of the older women, they’d have to leave tomorrow to go work, thus Luz could possibly browse some of the books in their personal library before going to school.  
With gentle breaths and a plan in mind, Luz allowed her body to rest and closed her eyes. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“How many baths did you need to take?” Willow asked as her scroll floated beside her. She currently sat at her vanity, drying her hair with a towel. “I had to soak for at least an hour. Mother and Father even instructed that I eat in my room, so that the servants could try and get rid of the smell in the house. Easy to say, they’re not incredibly happy with me, nor the school.” Amity sighed, currently wrapped in a blanket by the fireplace in her room. Her friend hummed lowly in understanding, “Luckily my dads heard about the incident and had a bath waiting for me when I got home. I had to soak for about the same amount of time.” She chuckled.

The plant witch stood from her vanity, her scroll following her as she left her room put the dirty towel away with the rest of the dirty laundry. “I wonder what happened. I understand that it happened in potions class, but at the same time everyone is so far into the semester and basically everyone in there are Juniors. I don’t see how someone could mess up a potion that bad.” Amity commented, snuggling deeper into her blanket.

Honestly, Willow was just as confused. All the students she had met in the potions track had a pretty good grasp on what to do, so how could one make such a simple mistake of mixing in the wrong item. Willow once again arrived in her room, climbing into bed, “I’m just as confused as you are. Maybe we should ask Luz since it was her last class of the day and everything.” The plant witch suggested, slipping her glasses off as she prepared for bed. Amity blinked. How did that escape her? She usually knew Luz’s schedule like the back of her hand, but she guessed being so focused on wanting to speak to her and just trying to see her, in general, caused it to slip her mind. 

The green-haired witch felt her face begin to burn in irritation at herself. However, a yawn broke her away from her thoughts. “Well, we’re certainly not having school tomorrow, but I don’t want to stay up too late and ruin my sleep schedule. We can talk more tomorrow alright?” Willow suggested, getting comfortable in her bed. 

“Yeah, that’ll be good. Goodnight.” Amity whispered, receiving a tired and weak reply before Willow hung up her scroll. Amity watched as her own scrolled vanished, her brows furrowed as she stared into the flames of her fireplace. Luz wouldn’t have caused the accident, would she? No, Luz cared too much about her education to make such a mistake. Unless-. 

“Mittens, are you awake?” The sounds of her older siblings once again caused her concentration to break. The young girl turned her attention to her door, watching as the twins gently opened it to peer inside. Both their eyes darted to the bed, not wanting to make any noise in case she had already fallen asleep. However, once their golden eyes landed on their sister sitting in a large chair by the fire, they perked up. 

Amity stared at them with a raised brow, “May I help you?” She asked. Emira quickly pushed her twin inside, closing the door behind them. Once they were inside, Amity took note of the mugs in their hands. “We brought you some scorched chocolate,” Edric stated excitedly, rushing over to hand his little sister her own mug. He took a seat beside her chair, sitting closest to the fire. 

Emira made her way over as well, however, she took a seat on the armrest of Amity’s chair. “How’s our little stinky Mittens doing? Feeling better?” She joked, taking a sip of her own drink. Amity’s eye twitched in annoyance. “I’ll have you know it wasn’t my fault I came home smelling like I did. Blame one of the students in potions.” She grumbled, taking a sip herself of the sweet treat her siblings had brought her. 

Edric chuckled, “We’re just joking with you Mittens, besides, we came in here for the gossip.” He winked, earning him a look of confusion from his younger sister. Meanwhile, Emira stared down at her in amusement, “Oh come on mittens. What was it like having your girlfriend back in school today?” She teased. Amity’s cheeks only darkened. “I’ll have you know; Luz and I didn’t speak any today. Or, well, at all in general as of recent. Also, she’s not my girlfriend!” She groaned, staring down into the dark liquid of scorched chocolate. The twins blinked, clearly confused. 

“Did you, uh, get in a fight or something?” Edric asked, placing his mug down to give his sister his full attention. Meanwhile, Emira stretched out a hand to gently rub her sister's back. Amity leaned into her touch, resting against her side. “No, not that I’m aware of. She seemed so fine during Spirits Day until the end of the night when she dropped me off.” Amity’s eyebrows furrowed once more, “It’s like she wanted to tell me something, but stopped before going through with it.” She stated. 

The twins shared a look. They had listened to their sister over the weekend talking to herself as she paced around in her room, trying to figure out the correct way of speaking to Luz about their current situation. However, they didn’t expect it to turn out like this. “Maybe, you need a break from Luz?” Emira suggested, earning her a look from her younger sister. She chuckled, “I don’t mean breaking contact with her, even though you haven’t talked in a while anyways. What I’m getting at is it’s not healthy to put all your time towards one person. We understand you care for Luz, but it’s clear she’s not ready to talk right now.” Emira stated, “Luz is currently going through something, so she probably wants some time to herself trying to figure out the situation. So, what I’m saying, is maybe you should try doing the same thing?” She suggested. Amity continued to stare at her sister, not understanding what she was getting at. What did she mean she put all her time towards Luz?

They only ever spent time at school during classes, lunch, going to the library to read Azura, the small adventures they would take for Eda, and- Yeah, her world was basically revolving around Luz at this point. Her ears drooped slightly in embarrassment, causing her siblings to laugh lowly. “Oh Mittens, don’t be upset. We all find that one person to get a bit obsessed over, especially when it’s a first love.” Emira reassured her sister, bringing her into a hug. “But maybe you should try spending some time with people other than Luz. How about Willow?” Edric suggested, once again picking up his drink and taking a sip.

“She’ll probably want to spend this time with her dads since they’re usually working.” Amity sighed. Who could she hang out with? Her mind began to scramble through the short list of friends that she had, before proceeding to go through the list of her classmates. No, she couldn’t ask to hang out with a classmate, it’d be too weird. She groaned lowly, frustrated with herself. It’s not like she could blame Luz for her lack of friends, she made sure to keep people at an arms reach before she even arrived to the Isles. 

When she wasn’t here all she had to hang out with was Boscha, Cat, Skara-. Amity’s eyes widened as she perked up “Skara! I can ask Skara to hang out!” Amity insisted, quickly summoning her scroll as she put her beverage off to the side. Both Emira and Edric shared a look of confusion before glancing at their little sister. Edric cleared his throat trying to get his sister's attention with no luck, “Uh, I thought you two weren’t friends anymore?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Emira raised a brow at her sister, “Yeah, I thought you cut her and the rest of the group that mom and dad had forced you with?” She asked. Amity’s stopped typing whatever message she was sending Skara. “Well, yeah, but Skara asked if just her and I could hang out. So, maybe it’s a step forward?” Amity sighed, staring down at the girl's contact. Her thumb began to hover over the delete button, ready to back out. However, a finger moved past hers, clicking send. 

Amity’s golden eyes widened, before shooting towards her smirking sister, “Emira! What was that for!?” Amity barked. Her sister ignored her outburst, moving the same hand to ruffle her little sisters’ hair. “Just a nudge forward.” She stated. Edric chuckled lowly as he watched his little sister glare at his twin. Amity’s face began to turn its usual shade of dark red, clearly irritated with the older girl. “Don’t forget to breathe.” Emira reminded her sister, gently poking her nose. The twins giggled as their younger sibling inhaled sharply, having forgotten to breathe. However, that didn’t stop the harsh glare that she continued to give her sister. A small ding drew all three sibling’s attention towards the scroll in Amity’s hand. 

“Sure, lunch sounds great! We can meet at 12!” The reply insisted.

Amity stared at the scroll for a moment, before snapping out of her daze. She was quick to type up a reply and send it, making her scroll disappear soon after. “See, that wasn’t so hard.” Emira cooed as she leaned against her sister, falling into her lap. Amity groaned lowly, the weight of her sister coming as a surprise that she wasn’t prepared for. “Get off me, you’re crushing my legs!” Amity growled, trying to shove her sister off to no luck. Instead, her older sibling picked up her own drink and took a sip. The younger Blight sighed in defeat. Maybe at some point, she could try and stand and knock her off, but for now, she was tired and just wanted more scorched chocolate. Thus, she reached for her own mug, and took a comforting sip, enjoying the crackling of the fire with her siblings.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To say Amity’s parents were surprised when she announced she was meeting Skara for lunch was an understatement. Odalia seemed, scarily, overjoyed with the announcement her daughter had given. It was clear that her parents believed she had made up with Boscha and her group and had decided to no longer be “difficult”. Thus, she allowed them to believe it, as long as it allowed her freedom to leave the house. 

Her parents had even dropped her off, claiming that they had an arrangement themselves in town. They gave their greetings to the grey-haired bard witch before departing to wherever they needed to go. The two girls had stood there for about a minute, just awkwardly staring at each other. “I guess we should head inside.” Amity had suggested, moving to open the door for the other teen. Skara walked in without saying a word and notified the hostess that there were two of them.

She had even thrown in both of their last names, causing the woman’s eyes to widen and lead them to a private room. The room was quiet and beautifully decorated like the rest of the establishment. It was also located on the second floor and had a private window that allowed them to gaze out across Bonesborough marketplace. The two girls took a seat at the table in front of the window, two formal menus placed in their spots. 

Not long after taking their seats, a man entered, asking for their tea orders as well as lunch. The two decided on a simple tea, one they had gotten the past few times they had visited the establishment. They also ordered a rather light meal, with a few cakes and desserts. The man was quick to bring the pastries and an expensive kettle of tea for the two girls, pouring the warm liquid into each of their cups before leaving.

They remained in silence as they fixed their tea to their liking, both gazing out the window. “It’s supposed to snow soon,” Skara commented, taking Amity back a bit in surprise. Her golden eyes shifted towards the sky that was darkening. “Yeah, hopefully, it won’t be as bad as last year.” Amity hoped, remembering trying to get to school in the awful weather last year. Skara hummed lowly at the memory, “Remember when we used to go to the stand near the elixir place and get scorched chocolate? They always had the best.” She chuckled. 

A gentle smile appeared on Amity’s face, “Yeah, I remember. We used to get extra marshmallows and whipped cream. Our parents would get so mad when we’d return home with sugar rushes.” Amity recalled, sending both the girls into a fit of giggles.

Once they finally quieted down, Amity felt more relaxed. “Whatever happened to that place? Is it still around?” She asked, taking a small sip of her tea. Skara perked up at the question, “Yeah, we can go by there once we finish here if you’d like. I also want to do some holiday shopping, but Boscha doesn’t like doing that unless she’s getting something for herself.” Skara sighed. Amity glanced at the tea in her hand. 

“If you want, I can go with you. We can just, turn this lunch into a day.” She suggested, giving the girl a soft smile. Skara’s eyes lit up, shining with excitement. “I would love that.” She squealed happily. The girls fell into a more calming conversation, a few laughs shared here and there. When their food arrived, they once again fell into silence. The only words exchanged between them being comments about how good the food tasted, and even tasting from each other’s plates. 

Once they were done, they remained in the room for a while, munching on sweets and discussing school and upcoming events. “So, my mom told me you were planning to join the grudgby team again next year. Is it true?” Skara asked, taking a bite out of a small tart. Amity’s ears drooped just a bit. “Yeah, my mom is having me join again.” She sighed, picking up her tea once more, and taking a sip. Skara’s eyes widened a bit, “Are you planning to try and become captain again?” She asked, leaning against the table excitedly.

Amity felt compelled to lean back into her seat. “Maybe, I’ll have to think more about it.” She stated, honestly wanting nothing to do with the game, let alone be captain of it. Skara gave a nod of understanding, picking up her own tea to take a sip of. 

“So, does this mean that the human will be joining as well?” She asked, gazing out the window to the people down below. Amity tensed. “I, uh, don’t think she will. Luz isn’t a very athletic person.” Amity commented, the memory of playing grudgby two years ago flashing in her mind. Especially when Luz had scooped her up in her arms. Amity was sure her face was on fire. “Aw, but she was good when we played against you last time. Maybe you could talk to her about it?” Skara asked, turning her attention back towards the sweets on the table. Amity gave a low, half-hearted laugh, “Maybe.” She mumbled, taking another sip of her tea. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Luz woke up a few minutes before her alarm clock. Her body ached and she wanted nothing more than to remain in bed. However, the idea of missing more school than she already had caused her to feel sick. Or it was the fact that she ate basically nothing the day before. With tired movements, Luz crawled out of bed, glancing at the sheets. Only a few stitches had come undone, but besides that, the sheets weren’t as damaged as she expected. She made her bed before heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth and prepare for the day. 

She followed her routine, cutting her nails, brushing her teeth, and styling her unruly bedhead. She made her way downstairs in her pajamas since she no longer had a uniform to wear. “Good morning.” She greeted her adoptive family, all of who were sitting at the table. “Morning Kiddo! How are you feeling this morning?” Eda asked, taking a sip of her apple's blood. “My body hurts, but I think I should be fine for school today.” She insisted, hands on her hips. Both Lilith and Eda shared a confused look. “School? You’re not going to school today.” Eda stated, standing up to go rinse her cup out. 

Concern overtook Luz’s expression. “Is it because of what happened yesterday?” She asked, guilt eating at her. Lilith sighed. “Yes. Obviously, you wouldn’t go after what happened yesterday.” She insisted, munching on a piece of toast that was in front of her. She wanted to cry. She should have known this would happen. Eda watched as her assistant teared up with a raised brow before turning her attention to the sink. “Uh, Kid? We ordered your new uniform, so it’ll be here by this evening hopefully. It’s not like the school will be closed forever due to that stench. Even though I’d like for it to.” Eda mumbled the last part to herself.

Luz stared at them confused. “So, I can go back?” She asked, hope quickly replacing the painful fear and guilt. Eda turned the water off, taking a deep breath. She turned to face her student, trying her best to give a smile that didn’t show how concerned she really was. “Yes, but there’s some stuff we definitely need to talk about.” She stated, crossing her arms. Luz tensed at her mentor’s words, feeling tempted to literally tuck her tail between her legs and run. Eda took note of this, feeling nervous herself. Maybe now wasn’t the best time? “But, we’ll talk about it later when we arrive home.” She followed up with. 

Lilith shot her sister a look, one that told her she couldn’t avoid this topic forever. However, just a bit of weight felt lifted off Luz’s shoulder. “Deal. We can talk when you get home.” Luz promised, earning a tired smile from the older witch. The woman walked over, rustling Luz’s hair that she had already fixed. “Good. Lily and I are heading out early this morning so promise to stay out of trouble?” She requested, staring down at her apprentice. Luz gave her a soft smile. “I promise.” She reassured her. 

She hummed lowly, pleased with Luz’s answer before heading to the front door. Lilith finished her toast before following after her. Both women grabbed their cloaks, swinging them over their shoulders before grabbing their staffs. Luz followed them outside, waving goodbye as they flew off towards the town. The winter air nipped at her skin, threatening to chill her to the bone unless she entered the house, which she did without complaint. Silently, Luz closed the door and made her way over to the fireplace. She added a few more logs and rubbed her hands together. 

Although, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye, drawing them away from the fire. Eda’s large bag remained in its normal place. Maybe they had errands to run and weren’t opening up the store today? Luz shook the idea from her head. Eda was being lenient with her, however, the thought of having to explain herself later that night ate at her. Her gaze shifted from the bag to the couch where King was resting. Everything just felt so quiet. So calm. Luz didn’t like it. 

Making her way over to the couch, she sat close to King, pulling a blanket around them. She tapped on the crystal ball, watching it illuminate with shows. She browsed the different channels, all the dialogue coming out as boring and uninteresting to the young girl, which was new. After about an hour of trying to find something to watch, Luz finally turned the ball off. Her eyes shifted to the small demon beside her who continued to snooze. Slipping the blanket off from around her shoulders, she tucked King in who seemed more than happy to welcome the extra warmth. 

Quietly, Luz made her way upstairs. She stopped outside Eda’s door, rubbing her hand anxiously. Maybe she could go in real quick and look through Eda’s books? No, she’d wait for Eda to get home to discuss the topic since it was obviously what she was wanting to speak about. Thus she continued forward. She closed her bedroom door, falling into bed. Maybe she could take a nap? No, her brain was too wired to sleep. 

Reaching out, Luz unplugged her phone from its charger, browsing through the different videos online, only to continue feeling bored and empty. “Ugh! There’s nothing to do!” She groaned, burying her face into a pillow. “Hoot! You could always go outside!” Hooty screeched, causing the girl to shoot up in surprise. She turned her head, coming face to face with the bird tube. Screaming she fell back in surprise. 

“The forest is so pretty this time of year! And there’s so many, mmm, tasty bugs.” It squawked, licking its beak hungrily. The gesture made Luz feel uncomfortable. However, a walk didn’t sound bad. “A walk sounds nice Hooty.” Luz agreed, a small smile of excitement making its way onto her face. The bird blinked, “I didn’t say a walk, but take it as you will!” It stated before exiting her room. 

Luz was quick to get ready, slipping on a longer shirt and pants along with a jacket Eda had gotten her last year and a pair of boots in exchange for her normal shoes. She tried her best to slip out of the house, making sure King was still asleep. She exited through the back, opting to take an uncharted path into the forest. Only a few minutes of walking and Luz was already feeling a bit better. The cold air stung, freezing her face, but it was welcoming. Her eyes were quick to dart to the birds in the trees as well as the small animals that scampered across the forest floor. 

Some fox-like creatures were busy chasing each other in a clearing Luz had found. Meanwhile, other animals were busy getting last minute nuts and berries before hibernating for the winter. She continued forward, taking in everything that brought the forest to life. 

However, a scent caught Luz’s nose, drawing her attention away from the direction she was heading. No, this smell was coming from the west. With a newfound curiosity, Luz followed after it. It smelt old and dirty, but then again, most things in the Isles smelt like that. She followed after it, the scent growing stronger with every step she took, even the animals seemed to appear less and less the closer she got. 

Finally, she stopped. An old home rested in a clearing. Dead grass littered the front yard along with broken glass from the windows. The red paint was old and peeling, mostly leaving the house to its original brownish color. Even though the entire appearance screamed “Enter and there’s a ninety percent chance you’ll be murdered” Curiosity won and led Luz to the entrance. She gently applied pressure onto the front door, jumping back in surprise as the door fell off its hinges and landed loudly on the creaky floor. 

Luz stared wide-eyed and awkwardly. Slowly, she slipped into the home, picking up the door and awkwardly placing it back on its hinges. She then turned her gaze to the hallway. Dust floated in the air, collecting on the closest surfaces it could reach. With careful steps, Luz started throughout the house. First, into a room, she believed to be the living room. There was no furniture except for an old wooden chair, that looked as if any weight would be applied it would fall apart. The fireplace was empty, except for ashes from long ago. 

She then proceeded to the next room, entering a small kitchen. Most of the cabinets were closed, though the few that were open were hardly hanging onto their hinges. As tempted as Luz was to look through and see what was inside the cabinets, opening one and possibly getting mauled by a random animal didn’t sound very appealing. Thus, she continued her journey.

Once she exited the kitchen she was brought back to the hallway, this time in front of a door under the staircase. This would either lead to a cellar or a closet and at the moment Luz didn’t have the courage to see if it led to the first option. Making her way back down the hall, Luz turned to head up the stairs. As she stared up, she stopped occasionally, as the wood creaked under her weight. Oh, how she hoped they wouldn’t cave in from under her. Once she reached the second floor, she continued forth with soft steps.

The next room she came across was a small bathroom. The tub, sink and counter coated in a layer of dust and a small window above the tub that held cracks from age. Turning away, she went towards the next room. A bedroom that was empty except for the curtains that fluttered into the room, the wind blowing in from the broken windows. Stepping further into the room, Luz examined it. Peeling wallpaper of an old pattern that reminded her of her Abuela's old home, and curtains stained with age. 

The room felt almost as big as her room back home, except just a bit more spacious. Walking towards the old windows, she gently pushed the curtains aside. They peered out into a backyard; a small fence built in the shape of a square. It must’ve been a garden of some sort, now barren as animals must’ve dug up whatever was left. Shifting away from the windows, Luz made her way towards the wall facing the door. Sitting down, she gazed into the empty hallway. Everything was quiet, except for the rustling of the tree outside and the chirps of birds.

Everything felt oddly normal.


	8. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and Eda finally discuss the worsening of Luzs curse and what she’s been keeping secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I aim to have at least one chapter out a week!  
> Please feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing your feedback!  
> ___________________________________________________________________________________  
> Art and permission were given to use by Saatiew@SaatieW on Twitter! (The image will be uploaded later)  
> Feel free to follow me on my social media for updates on the story!  
> Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired, Instagram: _tiredleaf_, Tumblr: tiredleaf

Knock knock

Lilith gently tapped on the cottage door before turning back to the gift basket that Eda held in her arms. She adjusted the yellow bow and gave it a glance over. “I don’t understand why we’re doing this.” Eda sneered, glaring down at the basket in her arms, full of baby clothes and a few starter things for the upcoming parents. Lilith’s eye twitched in annoyance towards her sisters’ comment, “Because, it would be wise to go through everyone that Luz has encountered since her incident. This couple happens to own the stand that Luz went to, so we are going to nicely ask for a list of their employees Edalyn. So please. Be. On. Your. Best. Behavior.” Lilith hissed the last few words. 

Eda rolled her eyes at her sisters’ seriousness, however, they quickly shot to the door as it was opened by a large looking bear-like creature. The man perked up at the sight of the sisters, adjusting his glasses to make sure he was seeing correctly. A large grin broke upon his face, exposing his rather sharp teeth. “Lady Lilith, what a surprise! What brings you to my home?” He asked with joy clear in his voice. Lilith seemed to perk up at the respect and enthusiasm the man spoke with as he said her title, causing Eda to roll her eyes. 

The older woman cleared her throat, straightening her posture and a gentle smile stretching across her youthful-looking features. “Good morning! We were wanting to stop by and have a small chat about your stand is all. We also wished to congratulate you on you and your wife's upcoming birth!” She stated, clasping her hands together happily. The man's face seemed to shift a bit, showing a hint of concern, before his smile once again reappeared. He stepped out of the way, offering room for the women to enter the small home. 

They happily stepped inside, allowing the man to close the door and lead them to the living room where his wife sat in a chair knitting. She looked up, her fluffy ears twitching as they entered. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Lilith. “Oh my! Lady Lilith, what a pleasant surprise!” She gasped, gently resting the current item she was knitting on her lap. Eda couldn’t help but stare at the heavily pregnant woman’s stomach. She leaned over to her sister to whisper, “I think we should have brought another basket or two.” Which earned her a rather harsh nudge in the side. “Be kind.” Lilith hissed, turning her attention back to the woman. 

The man insisted they sit down on the rather old couch, which they happily did, Eda sighing in relief as she placed the heavy basket down on the coffee table. “What brings you two to our home?” The woman asked, shifting in her chair to get more comfortable. Her husband sat beside her, gently grasping her hand, “They’re here to um, talk about the stand.” He whispered, gently squeezing her hand. The joy quickly left the woman’s eyes, shifting to stare at Lilith and Edalyn, the latter shifting uncomfortably in her seat due to the gaze. 

“We understand that we’re a bit late on our taxes, but the man who rents out our stand as of recent hasn’t paid and we don’t know where to find him. Marcus here tried going by his house to speak with him, but the address the man gave just led him to an old run-down building!” The woman stated, getting worked up obviously. Her husband gently squeezed her hand, resting his head against her shoulder to help her calm down. Both the sisters exchanged a look of confusion. Eda was the first to speak asking, “So, you two don’t own some kind of juice stand?” Her voice held clear confusion.

The couple quickly turned to stare at the women with surprised expressions. “Juice stand? Ha! No, we sell fresh honey and vegetables.” The man stated, a small smile returning to his face. Lilith cleared her throat, gaining the couple's attention, “If you don’t mind me asking, who exactly were you renting to?” She asked. The man scoffed as he thought about the person, “Some guy named Timlet.” He mumbled, scratching at his scruffy beard as he thought about the man’s name. Eda snorted at the name, earning another jab by her sister. “May we please see the contract?” Lilith asked, giving the couple a reassuring smile. 

They exchanged a look before his wife nodded, releasing the man’s hand so he could go stand and grab the paperwork. The three women were left alone, the woman anxiously messing with the knitting needles in her lap. Lilith crossed her hands in her lap, nervously trying to look anywhere but at the woman in front of her. Meanwhile, Eda rested an arm on the armrest of the couch with her chin in her hand, trying her best not to fall asleep.

Lilith cleared her throat, earning the attention of the woman, “You have a lovely home.” She complimented. The woman gave a low thank you before the room once again fell back into silence. The sound of heavy footsteps returning to the living room caused two out of the three women to glance back towards the entrance, Marcus having entered once again with a hand full of paperwork. He once again shifted through the papers in his hand before handing them over to Lilith. 

Once again, he took a seat beside his wife, reaching for her hand and gently grasping it once again. “We didn’t want to hire any employees to run the stand while we were away, since we wanted to save as much money as we can for the little ones on the way. Enough to keep us home to spend a few weeks with them at least,” The man stated, eyes shifting to stare at his wife’s stomach.  
“The man said he wanted to rent a stand to sell juice, at least that’s what the man he sent had informed us of. We told him our stand wasn’t meant for juice and that he’d have to supply his own machines, which he agreed to. He paid his rent for the first few weeks but has randomly stopped. There are even receipts in there from his past and overdue payments.” The man continued. This piqued Eda’s interest, the woman finally hearing something interesting enough to wake her from her little nap.

She raised a curious brow, meanwhile, Lilith began shuffling through the rather tedious paperwork. “Wait, so you don’t even know what the guy who’s renting from you looks like?” She asked, amazed by the couple. They both glanced at each other, before shifting their eyes away clearly embarrassed. “We’ve rented to people before during the offseason and didn’t expect something like this to happen.” They confessed. She was pretty sure their cheeks were a dark red under all that fur. 

Lilith cleared her throat, earning the room's attention. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take these documents to the castle and have our database look for this, Timlet man.” Lilith requested, gently straightening the papers on her lap. The couple perked up at this, “Would you please? If you find him and he’s able to pay the rest of the rent, we’ll have enough for this year’s taxes for our stand! We promise to have it ready as soon as possible!” The woman begged. Lilith’s softened. “Very well. I’ll also have a word with the treasury to let them know of your situation, so it’s not counted against you. You have legal proof that you were supposed to be receiving money from a client who did not hold up their end of the deal. Thus, it shouldn’t be counted against you,” She stated, causing the couple’s eyes to widen.

“As for now, the two of you rest and continue preparing for the arrival of your children. We’ll get back with you as soon as possible.” Lilith claimed, standing and placing the stack of papers under her arm. Eda stood as well, nudging the basket towards the woman who peered inside as her husband stood. He led the two women out, though stepped outside with them. He wrung his hands nervously, eyes weary as he stared down at them. “Lady Lilith, if possible, would it be possible if I go on and pay at least a quarter of the amount that my wife and I owe?” He asked.

The sisters were taken back, sharing a look of confusion before glancing at the man. “I don’t really see that as being necessary. It’s not your fault that your late on-” Lilith began, however, she was cut off. “I know, but I don’t want Madeline to worry anymore. She’ll be fine for now, yes, but once the children are born, I know she’ll start fretting again. Thus, I want to go on and start paying now, so it can be a surprise. If we get the money that the man owes us, we’ll be fine again, so I’m trying to remain positive.” He claimed.

Lilith and Eda once again exchanged a look. “I’ll think about it. I just want you two to focus on your family for now, and if I believe you can handle it, I’ll send a messenger to collect the quarter percent you’ve offered.” Lilith compromised, walking over with Edalyn to the side of the house to grab their staffs. “I greatly appreciate it.” He stated with a smile, watching as the women mounted their staffs. “Hey, word of advice, as a person who doesn’t pay taxes, I’d open that stand back up and be making bank that they didn’t know about,” Eda whispered to the man, causing his eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.

Her older sister, however, ears twitched as she listened in on what her younger sibling told the man. “Excuse me Edalyn, you haven’t been doing what?” She hissed, eyes piercing through her sister. Eda chuckled nervously, “I’m just joking Lily, you know I’m a fair and honest,” She gulped in distaste “Taxpayer.” She gagged out the last part. Lilith’s glare, however, didn’t waver. “I bet you are.” She grumbled before shifting her expression to be more friendly. She waved goodbye to the man and proceeded to fly off into the sky with her sister.

Both women tightened their cloaks as the cold wind threatened to bite any exposed flesh. “So, we’re heading to the castle, right?” Eda asked, preparing to redirect Owlbert if needed. Lilith sighed, glancing at her sister, “I’m heading to the castle, you Edalyn, are heading home to speak with Luz.” She instructed. Eda’s body tensed at her sister’s words. “I mean, yeah I need to do that, but I think that can wait till later tonight.” She tried waving her off, but Lilith was persistent. 

“Edalyn, I understand you’re nervous about having this talk, Luz is to. But you have to understand that you should speak about it now rather than later.” She pushed, hoping to get through to her sister. Eda remained hesitant, staring down at the passing scenery underneath them rather than at her sister. “I don’t know where to begin,” Eda admitted, finally sparing her older sister a glance. She chuckled lowly, earning a confused look from her younger sibling. “It shouldn’t really matter where you begin, as long as the two of you make the environment comfortable enough to be able to speak about what’s been happening. Through everything the two of you have been through together, you’d think having a talk with a teenager would be a walk in the park for you.” Lilith joked. 

Eda’s pale cheeks burned slightly in embarrassment, though she chuckled. “I guess you’re right. I’ll head home and talk to the kid, and let you know how it goes later this evening.” She promised, earning a soft smile from her older sibling. She waved goodbye, leaning her body slightly to redirect Owlbert back in the direction of the owl house. Lilith remained in the sky, watching her younger sibling fly off before redirecting her own staff in the direction of the old castle. 

Meanwhile, Luz was busy sniffing at the air, trying her best to catch a scent that would lead her home. Having stayed inside the old home caused the girl's nose to feel a bit stuffy with all the dust floating around. Then again, she’s also been in a house that was freezing and had most likely begun catching the beginning of a cold. The leaves under her feet crunched loudly as she continued forward, having followed a path out the front door rather than the way she had come. 

It probably wasn’t the best idea, but Luz was feeling a bit adventurous. She just didn’t think this path of adventure would be so long, having walked for around maybe fifteen to twenty minutes. The sun remained high in the sky, though a bit lower than earlier as it was probably around two in the evening now. Luz honestly didn’t know; she had left her phone at home to connect more with nature. It didn’t surprise her that not many animals were around, most likely remaining far from paths where witches and creatures would be walking about. What did, however, surprise her was to see a small sign with arrows pointing in random directions at the end of the road.

Excitedly, she rushed towards it, nearly stumbling over her own feet and smacking face-first into the sign. However, she caught herself, her side colliding with the old wooden sign, nearly knocking it from its post. Quickly, her eyes shot up. In one direction a sign pointed it read “Glandus High” which caused Luz to narrow her eyes and mumble out “Stupid Glandus.” Under her breath. The next pointed towards the “Boneborough Market Place” with another one pointing in the direction of “The Isles Chest” the name of Amity’s neighborhood. Her stomach dropped. She wouldn’t be surprised if Amity was upset with her right now and she couldn’t blame her either.

She took a calming breath “Once I figure some stuff out, we’ll talk.” She whispered to herself. However, the words she spoke couldn’t prevent her from longingly looking down the road towards the neighborhood. Quickly she turned to head in the direction of the market, making her body move before her heart forced her in the opposite direction. However, it didn’t stop her mind from wondering. What would Amity be doing on her day off? Studying perhaps? Maybe going out and doing something with her siblings? It wouldn’t surprise her if she went to her hideout to read the Azura books or write in her diary with her favorite cup of tea by her side.

Luz’s heart ached, oh how she missed their book club meetings. Leaning against one of Amity’s many large and soft pillows with the girl in her lap, head leaning against her chest with Luz’s chin resting on her shoulder or head. Her soft voice reading off the pages of the book, sending Luz into a certain daze and calmness she just couldn’t find anywhere else except with Amity. Shaking her head, she continued down the path. However, within a few minutes, something odd happened. She blinked seeing some type of yellowish-brown trail of fog appear before her. It was like that night on Spirits Day. When the faint trail led to Amity, even if her sweet scent was mixed in with the horrid scent of the perfume her mother made her wear.

She sniffed, cringing at the stench. It wasn’t exactly bad, but whatever it was definitely needed to be cleaned. It smelt familiar somehow. Thus, she stepped off the path, following it. After walking a few feet, Luz’s opinion quickly began to change. Whatever was emitting that stench needed a thorough cleaning. Her face scrunched and she gagged, however, the ache of her stomach reminded her that it had been nearly two days now since she ate. She continued stumbling forward, following the trail, and coming to a stop as a familiar voice caught her attention.

“And now Luz turns into some big creature like Eda and Lilith! It’s willllllld up in here! But at least I have you, Mr. Bug! You’re one of the most normal people here and-hold on a second!” Hooty’s voice echoed in the distance. Please, Titan, have mercy on her. Luz felt something squish against her cheek, her eyes quickly shifted to meet with Hooty’s dark ones. “Hi, Luz!” It screamed into her ear, causing her to whimper. “Did you enjoy your walk?!” It continued to yell, which caused Luz to instinctively reach out and clench her hand over its beak, silencing the creature. 

Her tired eyes softened as the bird stared at up her. She gave it a weak smile, “It really did, and thank you for suggesting it.” She spoke, finally releasing the bird’s beak. The house blinked for a moment before its eyes lit up, a large smile appearing which made Luz a bit uncomfortable. “I was helpful! You took my advice and enjoyed it! We need to celebrate!” The house screeched excitedly, causing a nervous laugh to escape Luz. “It’s fine, no need for all that.” Luz tried to reason but was quickly silenced as Hooty wrapped its body around hers, shooting out of the woods with Luz in tow. 

The bird dropped her inside the house, causing the girl to land on her behind. She grumbled lowly at the small ache, though was put to silence as Hooty got up in her face, pressing its forehead against hers. “This means we’re best friends, now right?! Right?! Ooo, what shall we do to celebrate our new best friend status?!” The creature asked excitedly. Luz racked her brain, honestly wanting nothing more than to eat and wait for Eda to come home. “How about we do something later? Walking has really zapped my energy and I’m really hungry.” Luz stated, gently pushing the bird's face away from her.

Hooty hummed lowly, narrowing its eyes to examine the teen. “Hmmm…Okay! When you feel better let me know and we can do something! Ooo, we can search for bugs together to eat!” It stated excitedly. Luz tried not to gag at the idea, a forced smile appearing on her face instead, “Sounds fun, will do.” She lied, watching as the bird tube excitedly returned to its post, slamming the door. King perked up, having woken up for the first time since Luz left. “Huh, what’s going on?” He asked tiredly, eyes shifting around lazily as he let out a tired yawn. Luz chuckled, standing up and scooping up the smaller demon into her arms, her tail wagging slightly. “We’re going to have us a late lunch.” She insisted, kissing the top of his skull before walking into the kitchen. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hmmm, can I see that one?” Skara asked the demon behind the counter as she pointed at a jeweled brooch that cost about as much as a small home in Bonesborough. The man was quick to reach inside the case, pulling out the expensive pendant. Amity examined it with her, a silver feather with a different variety of gems littering its surface. Skara cocked her head to the side, gently using the tip of her manicured nail to shift it around. She looked over at Amity, “Do you think it looks old? Like, would my mom wear it?” She asked. 

Amity’s golden eyes narrowed as she took in the design. It was beautiful, yes, but quite flashy. She had seen Skara’s mother wear them before to social events, but never something this extravagant. “I feel it’s a bit much. Maybe look into a simpler design and color instead of-” She glanced down at it once again, “A rainbow.” She finished. Skara hummed lowly, taking Amity’s words into consideration. She glanced up at the man before shaking her head. 

He was quick to give a curt nod of understanding before quickly placing the expensive brooch back in its spot. He led the girl farther down, having listened in on their conversation, to show her brooches with simpler gem patterns and designs. Meanwhile, Amity took the time to glance around the store. They offered a variety of jewelry as well as glass figurines, a few clothing items, and even some perfume samples. The latter was suggested to the two girls as soon as they walked into the store by an older woman, which they declined. 

Her eyes shifted to one of the many expensive bottles, a familiar one sticking out to her. The glass bottle being the same one her hairdresser had with him on Spirits Day. Her eyes shifted towards the label, confirming it to be the same brand.

“Why do you stink?” Luz’s voice echoed in Amity’s head from that night. Her cheeks began to burn with embarrassment at the memory. Quickly, without thinking, she shot a hand out, turning the bottle around so she couldn’t see it. A low cough drew her attention away, back towards the woman who had offered them a sample earlier. She stared at Amity with a raised brow and a look of irritation that basically screamed “Keep your hands off the merchandise unless you’re wanting to buy it.” Thus, Amity held her hands up, stepping away to rejoin Skara, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

The bard witch currently held a pout as she stared between two brooches. Both held red gems, as a sign of the Bard Coven, which was good, meaning she at least picked out a color. One was a rose gold flower, the shining gems aligning the elegant petals. The next was a golden brooch with an elegant design Amity could not quite place. However, the craftsmanship was of good quality and wasn’t overdecorated with the red gems like the other was. It was a nice balance. 

“I think she’d like this one.” Amity insisted, gently tapping on the second brooch. Skara’s stormy eyes lit up, squealing excitedly as she turned to hug Amity’s side. “You always know just what to pick!” She stated. Amity gave a low and awkward chuckle. As nice as the girl's words were, she knew that anything she’d help pick out, be it her or anyone from her old gang, Skara would automatically fall in love with it. The man behind the counter put the first brooch away, before gently picking up the one Skara chose and walking away to have it wrapped. 

Amity’s eyes shifted from the man to the expensive necklaces and rings inside the case. Skara blinked, watching as the Blight examined everything. “Are you looking for a gift for the human?” She asked, her eyes shifting towards the case as well to help Amity with her supposed search. Amity’s cheeks burned a light pink, though not as bad as when she got caught earlier by the saleswoman. “Not really. Even if I was, Luz doesn’t really like stuff like this. She’s, well, simple.” Amity explained, earning a curious look from the girl beside her. 

Giving a low sigh, Amity turned her attention towards the girl, catching her by a bit of surprise. “Skara, can I ask you a question?” She asked. Skara turned, giving Amity her full attention as well before agreeing. Amity took a sharp breath, “You’ve already asked about Luz a few times today. Is there a particular reason as to why?” She questioned. As much as Amity didn’t like pointing fingers, the frequent conversation changer from one thing to wanting to know about Luz had certainly caught Amity’s attention. 

The young girl had not only asked about her at lunch but as they walked from store to store, Luz became the topic of interest at least once in each location. And oddly enough, it was always brought up by Skara. She cocked her head to the side, her gray hair swaying as if she was having to think about the question, which concerned Amity even more. “I mean, I really want to try and be a more attentive friend. To get to know you better, and well, you really seem to like Luz. So I felt she would be an interesting topic to talk about.” She replied as if it was pretty obvious. 

The youngest Blights cheeks burned brighter. “I mean, she’s a really good friend. I was just wondering in case Boscha was trying to get dirt on me or something.” Amity admitted, shifting in her spot just a bit uncomfortable at the mention of the three-eyed girl. Skara hummed lowly in understanding. “I don’t really think Boscha would ask that of me. Not saying she’s a person who doesn’t gossip, but she usually tunes me out when I ramble.” She claimed, a small amount of hurt being present in her stormy eyes.

Before Amity could say anything else, the gentle sound of a box being placed on a counter caught both their attention. The jeweler led Skara away so she could pay for the brooch, once again leaving Amity alone. The topic was never brought up again, instead the girls moving along to the old, scorched chocolate stand they used to visit when they were younger. The two remained in a light conversation of old childhood memories, and stories from their chosen tracks at school. 

Once they were done, they decided it was time to head to their respective homes, giving each other polite goodbyes, and promises to meet again. As she walked home, Amity’s mind began to replay the events of the evening, one seeming to stick out.

Skara never asked about Luz again when Amity confronted her about it. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

King watched with concerned eyes as Luz tipped back the bowl of soup that Lilith had prepared the day before. He understood she was hungry but did not expect to watch the girl go through seven bowls of soup in about an hour. She placed the bowl on the table, looking rather satisfied. “I think one more and I’ll be good!” She claimed, standing up to go fix another bowl from the large cauldron. King's eyes followed her, watching as she dipped a ladle into the mixture. King blinked in surprise as she filled it to the brim before coming to sit back down. 

Not even using a spoon, he watched as she placed the edge to her lips and began to drink as if she were thirsty. Once she placed the bowl down, it had already been emptied a little way past the halfway point. “Uh, are you feeling okay Luz?” King finally managed to speak. Luz reached off to her side, grabbing a piece of bread she had gotten to eat with her meal. She glanced at King curiously, “What do you mean? I feel fine, especially since I’m eating something now.” She claimed, opening her mouth to bite into the bread.

The small demon took note of the sharp canines that pierced the bread, causing him to shudder. “Are you sure? I don’t think I ever remember you eating this much.” He commented, watching as the girl basically inhaled the bread. Luz hummed lowly having to think, “Well, I didn’t really eat anything yesterday, plus the transformation took a pretty rough toll on my body. I guess eating so much is making my body heal quicker because I honestly feel so much better since this morning.” Luz sighed as she lifted her bowl to finish off the left-over soup. 

Once she was done, King was half expecting the girl to go back on her promise of that bowl being her last to go get another. However, she stood and made her way over to the sink, rinsing the bowl out before cleaning it properly and placing it off to the side to dry. Luz’s ears twitched, hearing noise off in the distance. She was quick to turn her attention towards the front door that slammed open, Eda standing in the frame. She weakly sniffled, the tip of her nose was red from the weather. “I hate the cold.” She grumbled, closing the door and slipping her cloak from her shoulders.

On instinct, Luz was quick to grab a mug and kettle. She began boiling some water as she searched through the cabinets for Eda’s favorite tea, adding it to the mug once she retrieved it. The older woman made her way over to the fireplace first, rubbing her hands together and soaking in the warmth. King slipped from his chair, rushing over to the woman and crawling into her lap. Eda held him close, sighing in delight at the warmth he provided. 

“Eda. Eda we need to talk.” He tried his best to whisper, which only earned a grumble from the woman. “One moment King, let me get warm.” She requested, trying to ignore the small demon in her lap. He grumbled lowly, “It’s about Luz.” He hissed. Eda’s eyes widened, shooting towards the little guy. She leaned back slightly, peering into the kitchen, watching as Luz’s tail happily swayed behind her as she prepared tea for her mentor. Sitting back up quickly, Eda leaned down to whisper in King's ear. 

“Meet me in my room in a few minutes and we’ll talk.” She instructed, which earned her a nod of understanding from the small demon. He was quick to slip out of her lap, making his way up to Eda’s room. The woman stood, making her way to the kitchen and leaning against the frame with crossed arms. “You seem more chipper now than you were this morning.” She commented with a chuckle. Luz’s ears twitched at the sound of her mentor’s voice, the comment making her cheeks flush, “I did go out for a walk earlier when you left and it really helped me clear my head.” She stated as she poured the boiling water into her mentor's thirty and flirty mug. 

The older woman hummed lowly, gratefully taking the mug from her student. “I’m not a big walking to relax person, I have a special drink cabinet for that, but you seem like the type to enjoy it. Find anything interesting? Lemme guess you found a special tree!” She asked and partially joked, while gently blowing the steam away from the top of the warm liquid. Luz’s tail began to pick up speed as she thought about the house, she had found earlier that day. She began to open her mouth, ready to tell her mentor about her find, but something stopped her. What if Eda told her she didn’t want her going back, since it could be dangerous? What if Eda wanted to see it? 

“Why do you want to return to it?” A voice echoed in the back of Luz’s mind. 

Her mouth closed before her cheeks heated up slightly. Eda stared at her with a raised brow, curious about her student's prolonged silence. “I uh, chased a two-headed squirrel up a tree today.” She lied, bashfully looking away. Eda snorted, nearly choking on her tea as she laughed. “You did what?!” She asked, having to put her drink down as laughter proceeded to rack her body. Luz groaned lowly, “It was so cute, and I wanted a closer look. Next thing I knew I was chasing it up a tree to try and catch it.” She grumbled out. 

Eda wiped a tear from her eye as her laughter began to cease. Reaching down, she gently ruffled Luz’s already messy hair. “Oh kid, don’t worry, we’ll have you back to normal in no time. But as for now, I want to go change into something more comfortable, then we can talk.” She offered, picking up her drink again and taking a sip before turning to head up the stairs to her room. Luz watched as her mentor walked away, before turning to fixed herself her own mug of tea as she waited. 

Meanwhile, King sat in Eda’s nest, digging through her shiny objects and finding a few he liked and made mental note to come by and take later. The sound of her door opening, caused the small demon to drop whatever he was holding, to quickly scurry out of her nest. Eda walked in, taking another sip of her tea as she proceeded to search for something warmer. “Alright King, what is it about Luz you were wanting to speak about?” She asked, making her way behind an old fashion three-panel room divider to change. 

King cleared his throat, as he prepared to find the words to say. “Well, uh, first off, Luz’s appetite appeared to be rather large today.” He insisted, watching as Eda exited the divider to go sit in front of her vanity. Picking up a brush, she began to brush through her tangled hair before glancing at King in the mirror. “How so?” She asked, wishing for him to proceed. King proceeded to tell the woman about the rather large amount of food Luz had devoured before she arrived home. Honestly, Eda couldn’t tell if she should feel worried or not. Her gut told her to due to Luz’s current situation but wanting to blame it on a teenager growing sounded so much better than a curse worsening. 

However, it wasn’t a simple action that could be brushed off so easily. “Anything else?” She asked, finishing with her hair to pull it back into a fluffy ponytail. King hummed lowly as he thought it over. “Oh! Her ears have gotten a bit pointier and her canines as well!” He commented, even pointing to the sharp teeth of his skull as an example. This information caused Eda to worry. She thought that the late return time to Luz’s original form from yesterday's incident was just that, a late return time. But it seemed to be more than that. 

King watched as Eda stood, fixing the arms of the long-sleeved shirt she had slipped on and dusting off her leggings of hair that could have stuck to them, before turning to the small demon. “If you want you can stay up here, but Luz and I are about to have a personal conversation and I doubt you want to be there for that.” She stated, making her way to her door. King hummed lowly as if thinking it over before shaking his head and climbing back into Eda’s nest. The woman chuckled before closing her door and returning to the kitchen where her apprentice sat at the table, patiently waiting. 

Pulling out the chair that King usually sat it, Eda took a seat, noticing how the young witch across from her nervously fiddled with the handle of her own mug. “So, where should we start?” Luz asked, already knowing where the conversation was heading. Eda sighed, “How about you tell me what happened at school yesterday because I highly doubt that a trained potions witch “accidentally” caused that stink bomb.” Eda requested. Luz shifted in her seat, embarrassed.

Eda’s eyes softened. She reached a boney hand across the table to gently grasp one of Luz’s that rested on the mug. “Did you not feel ready to return? We wouldn’t have been upset if you said you weren’t.” She reassured the afro-latina. Luz chuckled lowly, placing her hand over Eda’s. “I thought I was and was even excited to, it’s just,” Luz took a deep breath, “I didn’t feel ready to face Amity yet. I even spent the day avoiding her.” Luz stopped, eyes shooting up as she heard her mentor snort. The older woman was biting back a giggle.

“Why would you want to hide from the Blight girl? Last time I checked the two of you were inseparable.” The woman asked, clearly confused. Luz’s cheeks burned. “Something kind of happened on Spirits Day.” She admitted, her nerves causing her stomach to ache. Eda remained quiet, only giving a small nod to let the girl know she was listening. “We went spirit searching with Willow and Gus and Amity and I paired up together.” Luz started but was once again silenced as her mentor sighed. 

The woman took a sip of her drink before speaking, “Luz, listen I think I know what you’re going to say next.” She spoke softly, gently squeezing the young girl’s hand. She stared at the older woman confused, “You do?” She asked. Eda simply nodded. “Listen, if you and the Blight girl were making out and got caught by somebody on the path, there’s no need to be embarrassed about it. Let alone try and avoid her! If I had a snail for every time I got caught making out with a guy, I’d be able to afford like, several elixirs.” She snorted. Luz’s face burned in embarrassment. “Th-that’s not what happened!” She stuttered, trying to recollect her thoughts. The woman raised a brow. “It’s not?” Was all she managed to say.

Luz shook her head telling her mentor no. “We uh-” She awkwardly coughed, “Found a nymph's spirit in a pond.” She confessed, eyes once against going to meet Eda’s. The woman looked taken back. She blinked a few times, trying to process what her apprentice had told her. “You actually found a spirit? And doing that has caused you to ignore baby Blight because?” Eda asked, trying to connect the dots in the rather confusing puzzle. Luz puffed out her cheeks, clearly becoming more embarrassed by the second.

Telling Eda stuff like this felt just as embarrassing as telling her mom about little crushes, she had gotten back in elementary and middle school. Finally, not able to hold eye contact any longer, Luz slammed her face into the table. “She asked if Amity was my mate.” She grumbled. “Don’t laugh Eda, don’t laugh Eda.” The older woman repeated to herself inside her head. Instead, she cleared her throat, causing her apprentice to look up at her slightly. “And?” She requested for her to continue. 

“I couldn’t say anything! The nymph was getting all up in my personal space! And Amity replied with “So what if I am?” and my mind just kinda short-circuited!” Luz growled. Eda couldn’t do it, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. A large snort followed by a loud laugh only seemed to feed into Luz’s embarrassment. Eda dramatically slammed a hand down onto the table as she laughed, meanwhile Luz wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and hide. “It’s not funny! Why would the nymph even ask that!?” Luz groaned, finally looking back up, clearly distressed. 

Eda had to take a sip from her tea to calm her down, a few chuckles escaping her. “Luz, allow me to give you a little history lesson. Back in the day werewolves and nymphs basically shared the forest, so they were, um, you know,” Now it was her turn to get a bit uncomfortable, “Some were known to be VERY involved with each other.” She confessed, not wanting to short circuit the young girl’s innocent mind. Luz blinked, once. Then twice. “I was getting hit on by a nymph,” Luz mumbled. Eda hummed lowly in agreement. “A nymph was flirting with me in front of Amity.” She continued. 

“Yes, that is true and what I am assuming from what you told me.” Eda agreed, bringing her mug to her red lips once again. “Ugh! I’m an idiot.” She whined, shifting her attention to Eda’s hand that still held hers. She began poking at the ring her mentor wore to try and distract herself. Eda rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away. “So, Amity basically called you her girlfriend, then what happened?” Eda wished to proceed with the conversation. Luz continued to pout, “We set the spirit free, and I took her home. I did kind of wolf out though when the nymph first got close to us. It was like instinct to protect Amity in case something was to happen.” She confessed.

“We sat by the pond till I returned to normal, and when I took her home, all I could think about was the comment she had made. About what if we were together. So, I mean, I nearly asked her what she wanted us to be, but I got scared.” Luz admitted, her eyes staring into her tea, finding it more interesting to look at rather than her mentor. Eda sighed, “You teens with your emotions and internal conflicts are so complicated.” She groaned, however, a small smile remained on her lips. “I don’t see the harm in you two being together. Do you?” Eda asked, her expression turning serious. 

Luz blinked, surprised by the older witch’s seriousness. “Not really. But it’s obvious my curse is worsening! Just look at my ears! Look at my teeth!” Luz groaned, even pointing at her ears and opening her mouth to point at her canines. “I understand that, but do think that would stop Amity from wanting to be with you?” Eda asked, eyes holding a motherly concern. Luz remained quiet, processing the information. Would she? When she first saw Luz even after she had reverted back to being herself, her first instinct was to protect the human girl.

The way she had helped calm Luz down once she had gotten upset, noticing she had bruised Amity’s slender wrists. She still held her close and reassured her that everything was going to be okay. “No, it wouldn’t.” She mumbled, a small smile appearing on her face. Eda chuckled, “There we go! So, there’s no reason to be so nervous!” She claimed, standing up to walk around the table so she could sit beside the younger girl. Luz leaned into her mentor, a soft smile resting on her features. “Now are you going to let this silly little curse keep you from the Blight girl!?” Eda asked, trying to pump up her student.

The young girl's tail began to wag excitedly, “No!” She cheered happily. “That’s right! Are you going to tell her that you like her next time you see her!?” Eda continued. “Yeah!” Luz continued cheering, her tail wagging even faster. “And are you going to go on gross sweet dates and not care if people see the two of you smooching or not!?” Eda tried continuing. Luz paused for a second. “A little fast on that second half, don’t think I’m quite ready for that, but yes to dates with Amity!” Luz agreed excitedly. 

“I understand where you’re coming from and respect that! Now! A good way to wooing someone is to get them something nice! Now with the weather being cold, it means people are going to start exchanging new years gifts.” Eda stated, standing. Luz’s eyes began to shine in excitement, “Like Christmas!? You guys have Christmas here?!” She asked excitedly. Eda blinked. “Christ-what? No, we simply exchange gifts and stuff to close family and friends as a congrats for surviving this year, hope you can do the same the next with the Titans grace. But if you want to get something a little extra for your sweetie you can.” Eda chuckled, watching as her apprentice’s blush reappeared at the last sentence. 

Luz stood, following her mentor as the woman headed towards the front door. “So, if school is opening again tomorrow that means we only have a few hours to get her something nice tonight! So, I hope you’re warm because Owlberts about to set a new record with how fast he can fly!” Eda announced happily while opening the door. Excited, Luz followed after her mentor, watching as she mounted the staff and hopping on the back. Owlbert picked the two women off the ground, though remained in the air as Eda turned to Hooty. 

“Hey Hooty, if Lily gets back before us, tell her Luz and I went out shopping for a gift.” She instructed the house, who screamed out that it would. Quickly, they flew off before the house could hold them up with a conversation.

The home remained quiet, except for the soft footsteps of King as he descended the staircase. He glanced around the kitchen, surprised that nobody was around. He could have sworn he heard the door close. “Luz, Eda? Anybody home?” He called out, making his way into the living room. He blinked. They left him. “How dare they! I am the King of demons and they leave me alone! Oh, when they get home, I shall have a word with them!” He barked, climbing on the couch, more than ready to snap at the women once they returned. 

However, a yawn escaped his small mouth, and the demon began to get comfortable. “I shall have a word I say! After this nap!” He insisted, grabbing the blanket from earlier and wrapping himself in it, quickly dozing off.


	9. Hiatus and Important Announcement

Looking for beta readers around 3-5 for an upcoming Lumity story. If you don’t want to be a beta reader but want to help in some way, please DM me. If interested in being a beta reader DM me as well please!

(You can find me/DM me on my Instagram at _tiredleaf_) if you don’t have an Instagram feel free to leave a comment on this chapter and I’ll get back with you!

As for the hiatus, I want to finish at least half the story and plan it out more before continuing. I also aim to go back on later chapters (specifically 4-current) and make changes, rewrite some things and do some major editing.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a Werewolf!Luz and felt this would be a good opportunity to do so! I hope you stick around and enjoy this series! Please feel free to leave a comment, I love hearing your feedback! I'm sorry this chapter had no Lumity content, but trust me there will be plenty after this one!
> 
> Feel free to follow me on my social media for updates on the story!  
> Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired , Instagram: _tiredleaf_ , Tumblr: tiredleaf


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